2 arrested in power substation vandalism in Washington state – Hawaii Tribune-Herald

SEATTLE — Two males have been arrested and charged with vandalizing electrical substations in Washington state, assaults that left 1000’s with out energy over the vacations, and one suspect instructed authorities they did it so they might break right into a enterprise and steal cash, U.S. authorities mentioned Tuesday.

Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, each of Puyallup, had been arrested Saturday and made preliminary appearances in U.S. District Court docket in Tacoma on Tuesday.

A newly unsealed grievance charged each with conspiracy to wreck power services, and it charged Greenwood with possession of a short-barreled rifle and a short-barreled shotgun. Cellphone location knowledge and different proof tied them to the assaults on the 4 substations in Pierce County, the grievance mentioned.

The assaults on Dec. 25 left greater than 15,000 clients with out energy. Officers have warned that the U.S. energy grid wants higher safety to stop home terrorism and after a big outage in North Carolina final month took days to restore.

In keeping with the grievance, Greenwood instructed investigators after his arrest that the 2 knocked out energy so they might burglarize a enterprise and steal from the money register. The enterprise was not recognized within the grievance.

“We have now seen assaults similar to these enhance in Western Washington and all through the nation and should deal with every incident significantly,” Seattle U.S. Lawyer Nick Brown mentioned in a information launch. “The outages on Christmas left 1000’s at midnight and chilly and put some who want energy for medical gadgets at excessive threat.”

Attorneys who represented the lads at their appearances in federal court docket didn’t instantly return emails looking for touch upon the case. Greenwood faces a detention listening to Friday, Crahan on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors are looking for to have them stay in custody pending trial.

The 4 substations focused had been the Graham and Elk Plain substations operated by Tacoma Energy and the Kapowsin and Hemlock substations operated by Puget Sound Power.