Posted on 01/07/2023 6:04:07 PM PST by robowombat
‘Just desperate.’ Judge orders man accused in Pierce substation attacks held without bail BY JARED BROWN
Police in Washington arrested two men in connection to a series of Christmas Day attacks on power stations in the Tacoma area.
A U.S. District Court judge in Tacoma ordered one of the defendants charged with attacking four Pierce County substations on Christmas Day to be held in federal custody pending a grand jury indictment, despite a public defender’s insistence that the man facing a terrorism charge was motivated by poverty and should be in drug treatment.
Federal pretrial services officials also recommended that Matthew Greenwood, 32, be admitted to an inpatient treatment program for methamphetamine and placed on electronic monitoring, according to testimony on Friday. He faces up to 20 years in prison on a charge of conspiracy to damage energy facilities and 10 years on a possessing unregistered firearms offense.
Chief Magistrate Judge Richard Creatura cited Greenwood’s recent, “escalating” criminal activity and the danger the power outages posed as his reasoning for holding Greenwood. According to court testimony, the FBI determined he and his alleged co-conspirator scouted a fifth substation to cause a power disruption in the days after the initial outages.
× “This is a serious crime,” Creatura said in court about the attacks that left an estimated 15,000 Puget Sound Energy and Tacoma Power customers without power, imperiled people who rely on electronic medical devices and caused millions of dollars in damage. Because conspiracy to damage energy facilities is considered a crime of terrorism, federal law holds there is a presumption that defendants should be held in custody without bail. Get unlimited digital access Try 1 month for $1 CLAIM OFFER
Greenwood, wearing a light green jumpsuit, wiped his eyes and lowered his head onto the desk in front of him as Creatura delivered the ruling. He locked eyes with his girlfriend before he was led out of the courtroom. “I love you,” he said through tears. “I’m sorry.” In a “detailed, lengthy” confession to the FBI, Greenwood said he planned to knock out power with co-defendant Jeremy Crahan, 40, to cover up burglaries of impacted businesses, assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg said. Outside court, Greenwood’s girlfriend told The News Tribune they learned she was pregnant late last year and were scrambling to prepare for her delivery in the next few weeks. She recently entered substance abuse treatment and hoped Greenwood would be able to do the same until Friday’s ruling, she said. TNT Diner The latest South Sound dining news, with restaurant openings and closings, reviews and more. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Greenwood has recently been unemployed and lacked stable housing, according to a pretrial services report discussed in court. “We were just desperate to get on our feet,” said Greenwood’s girlfriend, who asked to withhold her name to protect her privacy. “He wasn’t even thinking about anything else besides me and the baby.” Greenwood met Crahan through his girlfriend, she said. She likened Crahan to an older brother and called him a bad influence. Greenwood told the FBI they got the idea to knock out power to cover up burglaries from TV news coverage of recent attacks on electrical infrastructure. Federal law enforcement has raised concerns about domestic extremists, such as white supremacist and antigovernment groups, targeting energy facilities, according to the Associated Press. Investigators have not uncovered evidence the Pierce County attacks were politically motivated, and Greenberg said there is reason to believe the burglary backstory. The federal prosecutor said he expects upcoming searches of the defendants’ cell phones to be “illuminating.” “It was very dangerous, and it was reckless,” Greenberg said. Greenberg pointed to a felony car theft case in Kitsap County from April 2022 and July misdemeanor convictions in Issaquah Municipal Court as evidence Greenwood could re-offend while his federal case is pending. Greenwood remains on supervised release in the latter case, which involved a weapons possession charge. “This is not a track record to establish trust,” Greenberg said. Creatura will decide whether to continue holding Crahan in federal custody during a similar hearing on Tuesday. The defendants’ attorneys and Greenberg filed a joint motion to extend the deadline for a grand jury indictment to March 16 due to the ongoing investigation, according to court documents.
Read more at: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article270863657.html#storylink=cpy
“should be in drug treatment.”
He can dry out in jail while he awaits trial.
L
Don’ worry...
Be happy...
Its just some old druggie.. actin’ up...
Nuthin ‘tactical” or “terroristic” here...’
Jus’ some drugged out old git...
Not to worry... Nuthin ot see here...
These aren’t the droids...
Now, move along....
Of course getting a job was out of the question
Meth heads.
So he decided to go commit burglaries under the cover of his manufactured blackout.
Makes sense. /s
Jail is his golden opportunity -- a free, abstinence based treatment program.
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