San Jose

San Jose PAL Games in Jeopardy After Baseball Fields Hit by Wire Copper Theft

The San Jose Police Activities League championship game was placed in jeopardy Wednesday after light towers at the baseball field were hit by a copper thief.

Police said someone snuck in through the back of one of PAL's two baseball fields and made off with an estimated $100 worth of copper wiring.

Copper wire thefts have been an ongoing problem in San Jose.

SJPD Sgt. Jim Ureta said the repairs would cost up to $25,000 and take months to complete.

"With the way the budget is right now, it's going to very costly to fix and there's a backlog for other projects," Ureta said.

In addition to Wednesday's championship game, the theft put next month's regionals and World Series tournaments in jeopardy.

"It's not fair, not fair for the kids," parent Estefany Solis said.

Parent Gloria Farfan said PAL baseball helps keeps the local kids out of gangs and drugs.

League officials were considering moving up the start time for Wednesday's championship game. The game would be called if it got too dark.

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