Two men have been charged in Washington state in connection to the Christmas Day attacks on power substations that resulted in thousands of people losing power and millions of dollars in damage, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced.
Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, both of Pullyap, Wash., were arrested Dec. 31 "following a fast-moving investigation by the FBI," according to the announcement, and appeared Jan. 3 in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma on charges of conspiracy to damage energy facilities and possession of an unregistered firearm.
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, who announced the charges, said he commends the quick work of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in identifying the suspects and disrupting possible future attacks on the power grid.
“We have seen attacks such as these increase in Western Washington and throughout the country and must treat each incident seriously," Brown said in the announcement. "The outages on Christmas left thousands in the dark and cold and put some who need power for medical devices at extreme risk.”
Analysis of cell phone records and images taken at the one of the targeted substations of a possible suspect and a pickup truck led investigators to name the two men as suspects, according to the DOJ.
A warranted search of the suspects' house discovered "distinctive clothing" matching those worn in the surveillance photos; a pickup truck similar to the one shown in the images was also connected to the suspects, the statement reports. Two unregistered firearms, one "equipped with a makeshift silencer," were seized during the search, according to the report.
The four targeted substations are all located in Pierce County, the DOJ reports: the Puget Sound Energy-operated Kapowsin and Hemlock substations; and the Graham and Elk Plan substations, operated by Tacoma Power, and which sustained an estimated $3 million in damage.
Conspiracy to attack energy facilities is punishable by up to 20 years in prison; possession of an unregistered firearm is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
Prosecutors on the case requested both men continue to be detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, pending future hearings.
"I am so thankful for how quickly and diligently our investigators and partners worked to bring this to a resolution,” Richard A. Collodi, special agent in charge of the FBI's Seattle field office, said in the report. “This case took many of them away from their families during the holidays but through their efforts, we have two men in custody we believe to be responsible for all four power station attacks.
"This demonstrates the commitment by all levels of law enforcement to protect our infrastructure and hold those accountable who put our community in danger,” Collodi said.
