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SALT LAKE CITY — Two men were charged Thursday with stealing or trying to steal copper wiring from electric vehicle charging stations in Salt Lake City and Box Elder County, and police say they may be connected to similar thefts in California.
John Anthony Doucet, 44, and Brandon Carmondy Scherrer, 41, were each charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with theft and criminal mischief by damaging infrastructure, second-degree felonies; property damage causing economic interruption, a class A misdemeanor; and trespassing, a class B misdemeanor.
Last week, both men were charged in 1st District Court in Box Elder County with attempted theft, a third-degree felony; property damage, a class A misdemeanor; and trespassing, a class B misdemeanor. Doucet faces an additional charge in that case of possession of burglary tools, a class B misdemeanor.
On Aug. 24, an employee with Electrify America discovered that approximately 480 feet of cable from six electric car charging stations at 1905 S. 300 West had been taken. The thieves caused more than $92,000 in damage and cost the company $17,500 in operating expenses, according to charging documents.
Four days later, on Aug. 28, the employee was notified a charging station at a Walmart in Perry, Box Elder County, was offline and the employee drove to check it out. The employee spotted a van with an Oregon license plate he recognized "from surveillance footage of other copper wire thefts which had occurred at EA locations in Salt Lake City and California," charging documents state.
The employee then used his vehicle to block the van while he called the police.
Scherrer, who was in the vehicle with Doucet, allegedly claimed he was working for Electrify America. But when the employee who confronted them said he worked for the company, "Scherrer panicked, made a 100-point turn, drove away and was then detained by Brigham City police," the charges state.
The charging station in Box Elder County "sustained approximately $1,000 worth of damage and the theft would have resulted in a loss of approximately $40,000 if it had been successfully completed," according to the charges.
Investigators discovered that Scherrer used to be a subcontractor for Electrify America, which according to the employee would explain how he knew how "to shut down breakers and remove wiring without being electrocuted."
Doucet further "explained that Scherrer provided the gate codes, demonstrated how to deactivate equipment safely, and how to achieve the work," according to the charges. "Scherrer identified himself as a subcontractor and paid Doucet hundreds of dollars in cash for the work they completed."
