Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Theft at Cable TV Company Leads to Free Service

Seldom has a neighborhood burglary been enjoyed by so many.

Some residents of the Stevenson Ranch community have been glued to their television sets since a freak burglary Sunday at the community’s cable company. The culprits made off with more than $30,000 of equipment and--wittingly or not--made all of the premium-pay channels free to all viewers.

“We just noticed it (Sunday) night. . . . I was up until 4 a.m.,” said Jan Dagley, a three-year resident of the community just west of Santa Clarita.

Residents said they assumed the free service was a “preview” being offered by Stevenson Ranch Cable TV, which occasionally shows premium channels free for a short time in the hope of getting its 1,200 subscribers to buy them.

But many people’s glee over the free programming turned to disgust when they learned of the burglary, upset that it occurred in what they believe is a relatively crime-free neighborhood.

Kristina Ozuna, 11, said she wanted to watch two movies Monday on Showtime, which she normally wouldn’t receive. But hearing about the burglary changed her plans.

If she watched, she said, it would be “because a crime occurred, and that’s bad,” she said.

Not everyone was as noble.

“I don’t think we even noticed,” said a 49-year-old man, who said he runs an accounting business out of his home. But he added, “I’ll check it out.”

The burglary apparently occurred at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the cable company’s antenna tower room, located on a nearby hilltop, according to a report by Deputy John Hutak of the Santa Clarita Valley Station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Combination locks were missing from the chain-link fence outside the facility and the door into the tower room.

Stolen were two unscramblers, six modulators, two computers, tools and other equipment, according to the report. A cable official told deputies the equipment was highly sophisticated and would be useful only to another cable company or to “sabotage the operation” of the Stevenson Ranch cable firm.

Jeff Stevenson, president of the cable company, minimized the burglary’s effect on service, saying Monday that repairs were expected to be completed within a day or two.

In the meantime, all customers will receive all 50 channels the company carries, he said.

Officials learned of the break-in when many customers started complaining about 11 a.m. Sunday that their cable service was out, Stevenson said. He said repair workers were able to restore service quickly, but found out viewers were getting more than they bargained for.

“We’re not sure if it was just a random burglary or someone who knew something about cable equipment,” he added.

Some viewers said they were surprised by what appeared on their television screens as they flipped through the channels Sunday night, but none said they saw anything they considered offensive or potentially harmful to their children.