The suspect, identified by police as 46-year-old Thomas Justice Freeman III, had been using bolt cutters in an attempt to snip though a live electrical wire in the 2500 block of Double Oaks Road, just off Statesville Avenue.

Freeman was pronounced dead at Carolinas Medical Center, where he was taken by two other men also suspected of attempting to steal copper wiring.

According to police, the three men met at Freeman’s home Wednesday evening and devised a plan to steal copper wire and split the proceeds after selling it. Freeman used his own 40-foot ladder and climbed about 30 feet up a utility pole. He received a shock while using a bolt cutter and fell to the ground.

Police said burn marks on his body were consistent with receiving an electric shock. His clothing also showed markings consistent with electric burns.

Officers investigating the crime scene found Freeman’s ladder still at the base of the utility pole. The copper wire showed marks of an unsuccessful attempt to cut it.

As of midday Thursday, police had not charged the remaining suspects, who stayed with Freeman at the hospital and were taken in for questioning.

Records kept by the Mecklenburg sheriff show that Freeman had been arrested at least three times in the county since 2008, all for minor infractions. His latest arrest was in April, 2010, for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

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