Puyallup man arrested for Christmas substation attacks to remain in federal detention

TACOMA, Wash — Jeremy Crahan, one of the two men charged with the Christmas Day attacks on power substations in Pierce County, will remain in federal detention.

A U.S. District Court Judge in Tacoma made the ruling Tuesday afternoon during a detention hearing. Crahan a 40-year-old from Puyallup, is one of two defendants charged with the attacks on four substations in Pierce County near Spanaway, Graham and Kapowsin that knocked out power to thousands.

The federal prosecutor cited the nature and circumstances of an alleged crime involving an attack on an energy facility.

"It goes without saying how serious these events were, they were dangerous, reckless, and set off sparks and a fire and only by good fortune there was no explosion," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg.

In addition to the Christmas Day allegations, Greenberg told the court Crahan and Matthew Greenwood, 32, spent hours scouting other substation locations after the Christmas Day outages.

"Went out next two nights and scoped out another substation," Greenberg said.

Greenberg told the court Crahan has a history of reoffending on court supervision or while charges are pending against him. He cited three instances including his criminal record, which dates back to 2005.

RELATED | 2 men charged in connection to attacks on Pierce County substations

Lance Hester, Crahan's defense attorney, asked the judge to consider allowing Crahan to stay with his parents in Roy and wear an electronic home monitoring device, insisting Crahan would meet the reporting requirements.

Paul Crahan, Jeremy Crahan's father, was in the courtroom for Tuesday’s proceeding. Afterwards he said he was disappointed to not be taking his son home, but understood the judge's rationale.

When asked his reaction to his son's arrest, Paul Crahan said he hasn't spoken with his son since he was arrested and news of him being linked to the substation attack.

"I can't understand that all," Paul Crahan said.

Crahan and Greenwood, who are both from Puyallup, appeared in court last week in Tacoma. Both are facing charges of conspiracy to damage energy facilities.

At the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hobbs asked that both men be detained because they are considered a flight risk and because of the severity of the charges.

Court documents unsealed last week revealed that Greenwood alleged the motivation behind the substation attacks was to cut power to a local business so they could burglarize it.

The two have been linked to four substation outages on Christmas day. The substation attacks left thousands in the dark, and two of the four substations sustained $3 million in damages.

RELATED | Vandalism at 4 Pierce County substations knocks out power to thousands on Christmas

The substations were vandalized over a 12-hour period starting on Christmas morning. The two substations in Graham and Elk Plain are operated by Tacoma Public Utilities, and the substations in Kapowsin and Hemlock are operated by Puget Sound Energy.

In an email to KOMO News last week, both utility companies said they appreciated the quick work and are cooperating with authorities. Investigators said cell phone records and surveillance video from Puget Sound Energy captured images that helped lead to the New Year's Eve arrests.

The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, the ATF and other agencies.

U.S. Attorney Nick Brown last week praised the quick work of investigators and said the case is still under investigation.

Conspiracy to attack energy facilities is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The case now goes to the grand jury to consider, as both men have waived their right to a preliminary hearing.