Blackhawk Thievery Draws Air And Ground Police Thursday

Our Tip Lines lit up around 8pm last night (Thursday) as a small army of the sheriff’s men and women descended on an apparent truckload of would-be thieves working the area east of Macauley Road and at the main entrance to the Diablo Country Club, which was quickly blocked by police.

Residents reported as many as 20 police cars and the sheriff’s STARR III orbiting the neighborhood, lending its search capabilities to ground units reportedly searching for suspected metal thieves – some of whom were believed to have scampered off into the nearby hills.

At least one person was seen being detained as police processed a truck which appeared to have been boxed in by deputies.

“We called but they said there was nothing to worry about and that they’d send an alert if warranted but we heard nothing for about an hour and it sounded like a battlefield with the helicopter,” a resident wrote. “It was so loud.”

This site provided what updates it could throughout the action and calls from beleaguered residents finally trailed off as STARR moved off and police ground perimeters came down around 9:30pm.

A sheriff’s spokesperson forwarded the following update Friday afternoon:

On Thursday, August 13, 2026, at about 8:05 PM, Danville police officers were dispatched to a call of three people climbing a telephone pole with a saw. They fled when officers arrived.

One person was arrested, but the other two ran into a heavily-wooded creek area. Despite an extensive search, the two other suspects were not located.

Officers found a section of communications line, approximately 100 feet long, on the ground near the pole they had climbed. Several sections of cut wire were in the suspect’s vehicle.

The suspect is identified as 32-year-old Joel Morales, a transient. He was transported to Martinez Detention Facility and booked on the following charges: damaging a power line, grand theft, conspiracy, and probation violation. He is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail.