ONAWA, Iowa -- Monona County authorities have arrested two people suspected of stealing copper from electrical substations and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
Monona County Sheriff Jeff Pratt said in a news release that Craig Keller, 40, of Onawa, and Whitney Reynek, 30, of Tekamah, Nebraska, were arrested Monday on charges of first-degree theft, first-degree criminal mischief, third-degree burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia. Keller also was arrested for two outstanding warrants.
On Saturday evening, Monona County emergency dispatchers began receiving calls of fires at electrical substations throughout the western half of the county that were causing power outages. Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative workers who responded discovered someone had broken into the substations and removed copper from grounding rods.
On Sunday, sheriff's deputies received tips about possible suspects and executed a search warrant at a rural Whiting, Iowa, home, where they recovered items stolen from the substations and in other burglaries in Monona County.
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According to court documents, Keller is charged with cutting several feet of copper wiring and taking it from the substations. Reynek dropped Keller off at the sites and picked him up, court documents said.
The estimated cost of repairs and damage amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars, Pratt said.
Pratt said the investigation continues and more charges could be filed.
Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call the sheriff's office at (712) 433-1414.