2 Charged In Pierce County Substation Attacks

PUYALLUP, WA — Two Puyallup men were scheduled to appear before a federal judge Tuesday on charges related to four recent attacks on power substations that knocked out power for thousands in east Pierce County on Christmas Day.

The U.S. Attorney's Office identified the men accused in the crimes as Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, both of Puyallup, who were arrested on New Year's Eve. The charges unsealed Tuesday include conspiracy to damage energy facilities and possession of an unregistered firearm.

The first three incidents, targeting substations in Spanaway, Graham and South Hill, happened early Christmas morning, leaving more than 14,000 customers in the dark for at least part of the holiday. Deputies investigated a fourth incident in the evening, after a 911 caller reported a fire at a Puget Sound Energy substation in Kapowsin, impacting the power grid in Kapowsin and Graham.

Federal prosecutors said the arrests were the result of a "fast-moving" FBI investigation, which helped identify two suspects using cell phone records and surveillance images.

“I commend the work by the FBI to quickly identify these suspects and disrupt any future attacks on the east Pierce County power grid,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “We have seen attacks such as these increase in Western Washington and throughout the country and must treat each incident seriously. The outages on Christmas left thousands in the dark and cold and put some who need power for medical devices at extreme risk.”

Prosecutors said a camera at a Tacoma Power substation captured one of the men on camera, along with a pick-up truck. Investigators later connected the truck with the defendants, and after serving a search warrant on the suspects' home found items of clothing that matched surveillance photos, prosecutors said. Federal agents also recovered two unregistered guns, including one with a make-shift silencer.

Prosecutors said the attacks on just the Tacoma Power facilities resulted in at least $3 million in damages. If convicted, both men could face up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 10 years on the firearms charge.

Speaking to authorities following his arrest, court filings said Greenwood told investigators the pair planned to use the power disruption to help facilitate a burglary. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said it was working with the FBI to determine if any of the burglaries reported over the timeframe were linked to the men.

The FBI continues to investigate the case with help from the sheriff's department, Tacoma Police Department, Federal Protective Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Washington State Department of Corrections.

Pending future hearings, prosecutors on Tuesday asked that both of the accused remain at the Federal Detention Center at Seatac.