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Power Crime United States

Two Washington Men Charged In Four Substation Attacks on Christmas That Cut Power (cnn.com) 128

Posted by EditorDavid from the outage-allegations dept.
CNN reports: Two men were arrested on New Year's Eve for allegedly shutting down four Washington state power substations in late December that led to power outages for thousands across Pierce County. Matthew Greenwood and Jeremy Crahan have been charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities and Greenwood faces a separate charge of possessing illegal short-barreled rifles.... The two cut off power to thousands of locals and caused at least $3 million worth of damage, according to charging documents.

Investigators identified Greenwood and Crahan almost immediately after the attacks took place by using cell phone data that allegedly showed both men in the vicinity of all four substations, according to court documents. Surveillance images cited in the court documents also showed images of one of the men and of the getaway car....

The two face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted of conspiring to attack energy facilities.
In addition, possession of an unregistered firearm is punishable by up to ten years in prison, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. But identifying the suspects was apparently pretty simple.

"When law enforcement served a search warrant on the home of the suspects, they recovered distinctive clothing pictured in the surveillance photos."

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the story.
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Two Washington Men Charged In Four Substation Attacks on Christmas That Cut Power More

Two Washington Men Charged In Four Substation Attacks on Christmas That Cut Power

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  • All I can say is... good (Score:4)

    by slazzy ( 864185 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @04:41PM (#63188080) Homepage Journal
    I have no idea why people are attacking power systems, but it's about time they are caught and put in jail.

    • Re:All I can say is... good (Score:5, Funny)

      by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @04:44PM (#63188090)

      They couldn't help it! The government is using 5G chips in their bloodstream to control their brains, man!

      • And yet they were caught because they were too dumb to leave their portable tracking devices at home....

        https://www.cbsnews.com/news/matthew-greenwood-jeremy-crahan-arrested-washington-substation-vandalism/

        "Greenwood and Crahan were identified as suspects because location data showed cellphones linked to them to be in the vicinity of all four incidents, FBI Special Agent Mark Tucher wrote in the complaint."

      • A) Wear a towel for a hat?
        B) Have a swastika tattoo?
        C) Have a MAGA hat?
        D) Have Cyrillic tattoos or a Z tattoo?

    • Re: All I can say is... good (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymouse Cowtard ( 6211666 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @04:54PM (#63188114) Homepage
      It's fortunate (not just for police but for the community) that stupid ideas are most often executed by stupid people.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        To be fair, these two seem to be an extreme example of a Dunning-Kruger far-far left-side case. How can they still not know that phone location data is used to find out who was at a crime-scene by now?

    • Re:All I can say is... good (Score:5, Informative)

      by I75BJC ( 4590021 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @05:06PM (#63188166)
      The broadcast news stated that these 2 men were trying to knock out power to businesses that they wanted to rob.
      Based on this news report, they are petty criminals or career criminals at worst.
      No Government conspiracies or rebellions.
      Sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer.

      • Re:All I can say is... good (Score:5, Funny)

        by know-nothing cunt ( 6546228 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @06:37PM (#63188376)

        I hope they get the electric chair. Just for the irony.

      • My bullshit detector went off when I read about one of the suspects saying that, but ...

        As little sense as it makes to shoot up four substations instead of pulling the meter at the business they were burglarizing, NYT says "After power in the area was disrupted, Mr. Greenwood and Mr. Crahan went to a local business, drilled out a lock and stole an unspecified amount from a cash register, court documents said."

    • Re:All I can say is... good (Score:5, Interesting)

      by hey! ( 33014 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @05:21PM (#63188198) Homepage Journal

      The motive was to create a blackout that could be used to cover burglaries by the two suspects. So while FBI counter-terrorism experts helped investigate the attacks, the intent wasn't political, it was just theft.

      One of the defendants was sent by the court to inpatient treatment for meth addiction. His pregnant girlfriend is apparently also in (voluntary) addition treatment. For him at least that last stupid and dangerous act was the culmination of a long string of stupid and dangerous acts.

    • They wanted to use the power outage as a distraction to break into and rob local businesses. Just local tweeker junkies.

    • How can you say such a thing?! They're just doing their bit to fight AGW!!!

  • Motive (Score:5, Informative)

    by pdh57 ( 10279936 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @04:51PM (#63188110)
    NBC is reporting that they committed a burglary during the power outage, and the attack on the power station was intended to make it easier to get away with the burglary.
  • These guys are dummmbbbbb

    • What, the crime didn't already give that away?

      • The dumb thing was using a SBR and a silencer. The penalties for those are grossly severe. They'll be far longer on the gun charges than they will for a measly few million in property damages.

        • So... guns are a-ok, but silencers aren't? You can shoot a guy, no problem there, but you also have to wake up the neighborhood or it's a nono?

          • This is an area of law designed to make things as complex as possible to deter legal gun ownership.

            To own or manufacture a silencer or suppressor requires a $200 tax stamp that requires a federal background check and a wait for paperwork that varies from 2-12 months depending on your luck. This is the same type of tax stamp you need to purchase a fully automatic rifle manufactured prior to 1986.

            The really fuzzy part is the rifle/pistol/short-barreled rifle/any other weapon classification. For that, you ca

            • "Alcohol, tobacco and firearms" should be the name of a store, not a government agency.

              • I live in a state which still has many dry counties, so that's just too much to ask.

                I'd be happy if the organization set clear guidelines and wasn't overtly hostile to those attempting to stay within the boundaries of the law instead. If you say a product is legal it's unethical to "reinterpret" the underlying regulation, retroactively declare the object illegal, and place the people that purchased those products in legal peril. Also, there is no excuse for sitting on paperwork for a year to do the same b

                • I find it fairly curious that there seems to be a correlation between "dry" states and states where gun ownership is almost seen like mandatory. It's almost like people consider being able and allowed to kill others more agreeable than being able and allowed to kill yourself.

                  Personally I consider both a matter of personal responsibility. We'll trust you with either unless you show you can't handle it, then we take that right away. From you, and from nobody else.

  • Good grief criminals are dumb (Score:3)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @04:58PM (#63188126)

    using cell phone data that allegedly showed both men in the vicinity of all four substations

    In 2023, doesn't everybody know they should leave their corporate surveillance tracking device at home before committing a crime?

    • Re:Good grief criminals are dumb (Score:5, Funny)

      by jfdavis668 ( 1414919 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @05:05PM (#63188164)
      Well, they had to post selfies of them doing it somehow.

      • I did a ridealong and the officer said something very close to "Let's face it, we only catch the dumb ones". Only approximate, but insightful.

    • Re:Good grief criminals are dumb (Score:5, Insightful)

      by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @06:06PM (#63188300)

      using cell phone data that allegedly showed both men in the vicinity of all four substations

      In 2023, doesn't everybody know they should leave their corporate surveillance tracking device at home before committing a crime?

      Apparently not even people who are PhD candidates in criminology [oregonlive.com] are aware of this.

      • using cell phone data that allegedly showed both men in the vicinity of all four substations

        In 2023, doesn't everybody know they should leave their corporate surveillance tracking device at home before committing a crime?

        Apparently not even people who are PhD candidates in criminology [oregonlive.com] are aware of this.

        And according to Court TV...the PhD drove past the intended crime scene a few times that night. Up and down the same dead-end street...and somebody remembered seeing that and thought it was an odd behavior.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      In 2023 most people don’t even think about it. It is reflex to grab it on the way out the door. Even if they did remember, in 2023 most cars built in the past few years have telemetric cellular modems built into them. So in 2023 you need to remember to leave all of their corporate surveillance tracking device at home before committing a crime.
      • Yeah right, so you'll be on foot without a cellphone, a prime candidate for a robbery turning to violence for not even having a phone...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sloppy ( 14984 )

      But people kept saying the mobile ISPs are criminal. I thought they would be on my side!

  • Only in the US (Score:2, Offtopic)

    by gweihir ( 88907 )

    Where terrorism is not called terrorism if the perpetrators just shot at something. "Gun" mindset gone utterly crazy. This is clearly domestic terrorism and I bet if they had thron rocks instead it would be called that.

    • Re:Only in the US (Score:5, Informative)

      by cirby ( 2599 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @05:04PM (#63188154)

      Except for the "political" or "philosophical" or eve "religious" part that's generally a requirement for calling it "terrorism."

      This is plain old greed and idiocy.

    • They took their cellphones along, they wore "distinctive clothing" instead of generic jeans and nondescript shirts and they fired weapons at the target that create distinctive patterns on that ammunition that can be associated with the delivery mechanism.

      This is not terrorism, this is just plain fucking stupid.

    • Intent matters.

      These dumasses were reportedly trying to knock out power to specific locations they intended to rob. = criminals

      If the intent had been to cause fear (terror) in an effort to effect political change, then it would be terrorism. = terrorists

      Still, they will likely face charges under the heading of terrorism because that's how our laws work.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Yes, I agree. Still, targets also matter. There should be some special provision for attacks on critical infrastructure, but there is not AFAIK. The lawmakers did obviously not anticipate people being this extremely stupid.

        • Yes, I agree. Still, targets also matter. There should be some special provision for attacks on critical infrastructure, but there is not AFAIK.

          They were charged with "conspiracy to damage energy facilities."

          Now you know.

    • >"Only in the US Where terrorism is not called terrorism if the perpetrators just shot at something. "Gun" mindset gone utterly crazy"

      Are you really that jaded? Something can't be terrorism without there being *intent* to terrorize. Has nothing to do with "guns". If you kill someone, there is a huge difference when you consider motive and conditions. It might be planned/on purpose (which we call murder), accidental or negligent (which we call man slaughter) or self defense (which we call justified h

      • Something can't be terrorism without there being *intent* to terrorize.

        Actually it can, but critically the crime of terrorism in the USA is only a federal crime and only covers some very specific scenarios. In looking this up I found that they could be charged with terrorism if they attacked a gas pipeline booster pump, if that gas pipeline crosses state borders, but not for simply taking out an electrical transformer.

        Most of what is terrorism has to fall under the use of largescale dangerous weapons (not guns), or attacking government buildings, government employees, or feder

        • I'm pretty sure that most states also have terrorism crimes.

          Florida, for example, has it. [state.fl.us]

          Basically, I'm reading it as one hell of a sentence enhancer. It can be used as a sentence enhancer to take you from life in prison to execution, for example. Of course, I'm not a lawyer.

          The whole pipeline thing has to do with when the state level terrorism becomes federal level. Which is generally when you attack federal stuff, target federal stuff for what your threats/attacks/violence is supposed to change, or whe

    • The USA has a clear definition of terrorism, and it does not include causing a power outage or damaging equipment belonging to a private company. It's not called terrorism because it's not terrorism as they didn't attack the federal government, agents or employees thereof, or infrastructure owned by the government.

      This is clearly domestic terrorism and I bet if they had thron rocks instead it would be called that.

      Except it's not. Ironically though there's a specific carveout for gas pipelines. If they attacked a pipeline boosterpump instead of an electrical transformer then they could be charged with terro

      • The USA has a clear definition of terrorism, and it does not include causing a power outage or damaging equipment belonging to a private company.

        Magic eight-ball says that will change shortly and I'm sure their sentencing won't show much leniency in the mean time.

      • The US PATRIOT Act defines domestic terrorism as: A person engages in domestic terrorism if they do an act "dangerous to human life" that is a violation of the criminal laws of a state or the United States, if the act appears to be intended to:(i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.Additionally, the acts have to occur primarily within

    • Terrorism - (noun) The use of violence or the threat of violence, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political goals.

      Was violence committed? Arguably no, just property damage.
      Were they pursuing political goals? No.

      In no way was this remotely terrorism.

      The political goals are the defining quality of terrorism.

      If you're shooting up schools to drive black people out of the neighborhood, or to wake people up so they stop being tools of the bird-replacing lizard people that live inside the Hollow E

      • Now, for bonus points. Is going to war inherently terrorism?

        Attack or defend, to goals of the violence of war are always explicitly political...

        • Generally no, going to war isn't inherently terrorism. It often revolves around the idea of casus belli, "an act or situation provoking or justifying war." This can be a real event like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or manufactured like the Gleiwitz incident. Russia manufactured a casus belli via their "referendum" of occupied Ukrainian territories becoming Russian territories and then needing to defend them (irregardless of the legalities of said referendums). As long as there is a casus belli for a war, t

          • Sounds an awful lot like the difference between pirates and privateers: They do the exact same thing, one just has a government permission slip.

  • Fight the Power! (Score:5, Funny)

    by YetAnotherDrew ( 664604 ) on Saturday January 07, 2023 @05:42PM (#63188248)
    No, not that power.

  • Does that mean that they had sawed-off shotties?

  • This is just me but if they wanted to cut power to everyone, maybe they ought to be placed in a prison that has no power and just be relegated to a cell that has an opening to the outside world and that's the amount of light they get to have. If they don't want the world to have the basic necessities like electricity and running water, maybe they shouldn't deserve it in prison.

    It would seem only fair that they get what they want for the world.

  • I'm sad to have to say this, but I'm glad it wasn't a political act, and was instead related to their burglary attempts.

  • Another attack on the grid, by a Jihadist bent on terror. Covered up apparently because the media is too woke and this guy wasn't a MAGA J6 insurrectionist.

    From dailymail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne... [dailymail.co.uk]
    Mohammad Mesmarian, 34, was arrested for allegedly ramming his Toyota Camry into a Las Vegas solar energy generator pit and setting it on fire
    Police said Mesmarian drove through a fence on Tuesday afternoon and waited until midnight before attacking the station
    Officials noted the suspect sat down and watche

    • Hmmm....

      I'd argue less covered up and more "not interesting enough to publish". I mean, consider the "if it bleeds it leads" paradigm.

      There's no blood: Like the substation attacks, nobody was injured, much less killed. Not even the perps.

      The damage is also probably pretty limited. I know, "up to 3 years to fix", but that's if they totally slack on it.

  • These were just two delightfully smart crooks trying to rob a train station and they figured a substation may be easier, but when they broke in, there were nobody there, so they tried a few more substationsâ¦

  • they forgot to mention (Score:3)

    by groobly ( 6155920 ) on Sunday January 08, 2023 @01:06PM (#63189884)

    They forgot to mention that the motive for the attacks was not some far-right conspiracy as claimed by the media and left wing politicians, but rather the authorities revealed that the purpose was to more readily burglarize places by cutting their power.

  • So we have gone from right wing plots to just thieves who wanted to knock out the power to steal.

    Thanks to the Media again for getting it utterly fucking wrong.

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