El Paso police: 11 arrested for stealing light bulbs from city’s Star on The Mountain display

Alejandro Mora, 20, was arrested in connection to a theft of light bulbs from the Star on the Mountain public lights display. Alejandro Mora, 20, was arrested in connection to a theft of light bulbs from the Star on the Mountain public lights display. Photo: El Paso Police Department Photo: El Paso Police Department Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close El Paso police: 11 arrested for stealing light bulbs from city’s Star on The Mountain display 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

El Paso police officers arrested 11 people last week who allegedly vandalized a public lights display by stealing bulbs from the location.

The department arrested and charged seven adults and detained four minors on offenses ranging from criminal trespassing to theft. The following individuals were arrested:

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The Star on the Mountain in El Paso.

Miguel Perez, 17, of El Paso; Victoria Sanchez, 18, of El Paso; Alejandro Mora, 20, of El Paso; Javier Castro, 18, of El Paso; Oscar Valdez, 17, of Fort Hancock; Gabriel Gonzalez, 17, of Fabens; Sabrina Gonzalez, 17, of Fabens; and four 16-year-old males, according to a news release.

Six people are charged with theft, while all are charged with criminal trespassing.

Police became aware of the situation after posts were made on social media, with the incident allegedly occurring on June 30, the news release said.

El Paso police say all of the stolen light bulbs have been recovered.

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The lights display, called the Star on The Mountain, was built by the El Paso Electric Company in 1940. At the time, it was only 50 feet wide and could barely be seen on the Carlsbad Highway. A larger star was then built in 1946 to make the display look better, according to the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

The display on the southern end of the Franklin Mountains is illuminated throughout the year.

El Paso Electric, on its website, says the first star was built by the utility in 1940 and measured about 50 feet wide. Later versions of the star led to a display of about 460 feet by nearly 380 feet, using about 150 lights.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Twitter: @tylerlwhite