Men attacked Pierce County power plant to commit robbery, federal government says

But a spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department told The Washington Post they were confused because the location of the Christmas attacks was mostly rural, Washington state south of Seattle.

“If it’s a message, who is it for? [it] Are some people just playing pranks? Sergeant Darren Moss Jr. said at the time:

On New Year’s Eve, authorities arrested two suspects and charged them with conspiring to damage an energy facility, moving closer to a possible answer.criminal complaint filed Tuesday revealed what investigators believe was their motive: Facilitating a robbery at a local business.

According to the complaint, 32-year-old Matthew Greenwood told investigators at the time of his arrest that he and Jeremy Crahan, 40, had broken into a local business and stolen from cash registers after he and Jeremy Crahan, 40, attacked a power plant.

Four Wash Power Plants Destroyed Amid Unsolved Cases Nationwide

Greenwood used bolt cutters to break through padlocks and chain link fences, and Crahan acted as a getaway driver, investigators allege. Puget Sound Energy and Tacoma, which operate the attacked substation, said the intruder had tampered with the circuit’s breaker and, in one instance, attempted to pry open the linkage, causing a spark and a blackout. , said court records.

According to the complaint, the damage to the two substations took up to 36 months to repair, during which time Tacoma Power was forced to use mobile transformers to maintain power at significantly reduced output.

During the blackout, Greenwood and Crahan allegedly unlocked a local store during the blackout and stole from the cash register. Investigators did not name the business in the complaint.

The two were also charged with possessing unregistered firearms after recovering a shotgun and a home-made silenced rifle from a trailer at a residence they allegedly drove through.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the two were in custody in Seattle. A lawyer for Greenwood declined to comment. Crahan’s attorney said he expects the client to plead not guilty.

Federal Attorney Nick Brown said in a Justice Department news release on Tuesday that the Christmas blackout left thousands of people without access to electricity and heating, including those who needed power for medical equipment.

“We are seeing attacks like this on the rise in western Washington and across the country, and each incident needs to be taken seriously,” Brown said.

Attacks on U.S. power grid infrastructure have reached their highest level each year since at least 2012, according to a December analysis of Department of Energy data by Politico. This includes threats of attack and vandalism. Experts warn that the country’s extensive network of local substations is vulnerable to attacks that could cause widespread blackouts. The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin in late November that included “critical US infrastructure” among potential targets for violence from terrorist threats.

Investigators identified Greenwood and Crahan from substation surveillance footage and cell phone records, according to the complaint. Investigators found two phone numbers that he had at all four substations that were registered during the attack. They were allegedly linked to his Google account under the names of Greenwood and Crahan.

After issuing a search warrant for a residence frequented by the two in Puyallup, a Pierce County city about 35 miles south of Seattle, near the substation that was attacked, investigators uncovered bolt cutters on Dec. 31. said to have recovered. Regarding surveillance footage and unregistered firearms. Greenwood and Crahan were detained on the same day.

Greenwood and Crahan appear in court in Tacoma on Tuesday, with detention hearings scheduled for Friday and next week, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Conspiracy to damage an energy facility carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for her.