Souderton Man Playing Optic Wire Guy, Charged and Jailed

A Souderton Township man decided he was going to play the role of Mr. Verizon Cable Subcontractor Wire Guy until Middletown Township Police intervened with other plans last week.

Ryan Ruth, 34, was arraigned by on-call Judge Charles Jonas on four theft related felony counts and two misdemeanors with bail set at 10 percent of $75,000.00 which Ruth was unable to post and was remanded to Bucks County Jail.

According to police, on March 27, 2025, at approximately 8:28 p.m., officers were dispatched to the area of Langhorne-Yardley Road and Strawberry Lane in Langhorne for the report of male subjects cutting wires.

On arrival, police met with Ruth, who was dressed in full linesman gear including a hard hat, headlamp, pole climbing gaffs, and a utility belt filled with tools, including linesman pliers, which are typically used to cut wires.

Ruth told police, according to the probable cause,  he was on scene through the scope of his employment with a Verizon subcontractor to secure the guide wire for a large fiber optic cable.

Through the on-scene investigation, Ruth’s statements were determined to be false, police said in court records.

While following the trail of the guidewire Ruth was handling, it led to a cut fiber optic cable. This cable had a fiber outdoor splice enclosure still attached, hanging at ground level, said police.

Further following the guide wire, it led to an access road where a substantial amount of stripped fiber optic cable was found, police said in court records.

Ruth is tentatively scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on April 10.