Infrastructure Vandalism Cut Internet Across Amador and San Joaquin Counties, Suspects In Custody
AMADOR COUNTY, CA — Two suspects were arrested Tuesday afternoon following an infrastructure vandalism incident that triggered a widespread fiber optic internet outage across parts of Amador and San Joaquin counties.
A major AT&T service disruption began at approximately 3:40 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2026, impacting customers spanning from Lockeford to Plymouth. Drawing on prior investigations involving utility line vandalism, Ione Police Department officers responded to unincorporated county territory along Highway 124 near the Highway 88 intersection.
At the scene, officers found an unoccupied parked vehicle alongside severed and stripped fiber optic cables, indicating that the perpetrators had fled into the surrounding brush. Deputies from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office arrived to establish a perimeter and conduct an extensive search of the wooded area.
After several hours, two individuals emerged from the woods and were detained. Investigators recovered an extension ladder concealed in the terrain that had been used to access and dismantle overhead utility lines. Automated license plate reader cameras (FLOCK) captured photographic evidence confirming the truck entered Amador County with the ladder loaded in the truck bed. During searches incident to arrest, deputies also located illicit narcotics on one of the suspects.
Both suspects were transported and booked into the Amador County Jail on felony charges related to utility damage, infrastructure vandalism, and drug possession.
