Thousands Lost Power on Christmas so 2 Guys Could Rob a Store, Police Say

Police say two men charged with attacking a series of substations—shutting off the power for thousands of people in Washington state on Christmas Day—did so to rob a local store. 

Authorities allege that Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, attacked the grid early on December 25 in Pierce County, Washington. 

The two Puyallup, Washington men allegedly drove to a substation in rural western Washington at 2:30 a.m.. Charging documents claim they used bolt cutters to gain entry to the substation and once inside, shut off the power by manipulating a part of the grid called the “bank high side switch.” Their alleged actions on the first substation caused the power to be cut off to an estimated 8,000 people in the area.

Several hours later, Greenwood and Crahan allegedly hit two more substations in the exact same way. This time they reportedly cut off the power to over 7,500 people. According to the court documents, Greenwood told police after his arrest that the pair used this time to rob a store. 

Later in the evening, at about 7:30 p.m., the two allegedly tried their luck at a fourth substation. This go-round, however, did not work in their favor. 

“The suspects tampered with the bank high side switch and they tried to pry the linkage open,” reads the charging documents. “This caused the substation to start arcing and sparking."

Police allege this cost over $3 million in damages. 

Following the attack, local police brought in the FBI who aided in the investigation. They said they were able to catch the two men after pinpointing two cellphones to all four of the substations at the time they were attacked. The two phones were registered to Greenwood and Crahan under their real names and email addresses. After this information came to light the two were put under "continuous FBI surveillance." They were eventually arrested on New Year's Eve, making it a rather eventful holiday season for the two men. 

When he was arrested Greenwood was allegedly dressed in the same clothes as the person caught on camera attacking one of the substations. Police also said Greenwood was possession of illegal short-barreled rifles. 

According to the court documents, after the arrest, Greenwood confessed and told police he and Crahan had been planning to cut off the power to commit a burglary. He claimed they did just that and while the power was out they went to a local business, drilled out the lock, and “entered to steal from a cash register.” 

The two face charges of conspiracy to damage energy facilities and possession of an unregistered firearm.  

The attacks came as all eyes were on the national power grid following similar attacks in North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington state. While far-right actors have previously shared instructions on how to attack grids, no groups nor individuals have been caught or laid claim to the other attacks. 

"We have seen attacks such as these increase in Western Washington and throughout the country and must treat each incident seriously,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown in a press release. “The outages on Christmas left thousands in the dark and cold and put some who need power for medical devices at extreme risk."

The pair face upwards of 20 years in prison if found guilty.