California Penal Code section 591 can apply when a person unlawfully and maliciously takes down, removes, injures, disconnects, cuts, or obstructs a covered communication or electrical line or connected equipment, severs a wire, or makes a specified unauthorized electrical connection. The exact line or apparatus and alleged act matter. The statute is not limited to utility infrastructure or landlines: connected telephone equipment can be covered, although not every damaged phone is a section 591 case. (Penal Code §591; CALCRIM No. 2902, 2025 edition.)
Identify the object and the act charged
Section 591 names telegraph, telephone, cable-television, and electricity-conducting lines, their parts, and connected appurtenances or apparatus; the text expressly includes backup power supplies. It separately covers severing a wire in such a line and making an unauthorized connection to a line conducting electricity. For that unauthorized-connection clause, the statute excludes telegraph, telephone, and cable-television lines. (Penal Code §591.)
The statute lists several possible acts, so the charging document should be checked for the exact theory: taking down, removing, injuring, disconnecting, cutting, obstructing, severing a wire, or making an unauthorized connection. CALCRIM No. 2902 also treats these as alternative act paths. An area-wide outage is not a listed element. A focused review asks what line or connected equipment was involved, what happened to it, and what evidence identifies the accused and the alleged conduct.
Section 591 requires an unlawful and malicious act. The Penal Code’s definition of “maliciously” includes a wish to vex, annoy, or injure another person, or an intent to do a wrongful act. Whether those conditions are proved depends on the evidence; accidental damage or mistaken identification of equipment should not be treated as automatically satisfying the charge. (Penal Code §§591, 7(b)(4).)
How section 591 differs from the wireless-device law
Penal Code section 591.5 addresses a wireless communication device and requires the specific intent to prevent someone from using it to summon help or notify law enforcement or a public-safety agency about a crime. Section 591 instead concerns the covered lines and connected apparatus described above. The statutes are different; the facts may raise more than one theory. For the distinct broken-phone question under §591.5, see California law on a partner’s phone damaged during an argument.
Penalty depends on the charged route
Section 591 permits up to one year in county jail and a fine up to $1,000, or the felony term under Penal Code §1170(h)—16 months, two years, or three years—and a fine up to $10,000. This is a misdemeanor-or-felony statute; the actual charge and facts matter. Do not assume a felony allegation from the amount of damage or claim a fixed result. (Penal Code §591.)
Records to preserve
Keep the charging document and preserve existing photographs, recordings, repair or inspection records, and witness information. A case review may compare the exact act charged with the equipment identified, its connection to a covered line, the condition before and after the incident, and evidence of unlawfulness or malice. Do not attempt to disable, reconnect, or test equipment yourself; counsel can assess the evidence already available.
For a consultation about a California criminal charge involving alleged line or equipment damage, contact the Law Offices of David S. Chesley at (800) 755-5174.