A Utah man will be barred from six counties in the state for three years after he is released from prison and must pay back more than $380,000 as punishment for shooting an energy substation and causing “major” power outages.
Stephen Plato McRae, 59, agreed to those conditions as part of a plea deal Friday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, according to a news release from Utah’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. The agreement also mandates he spends 96 months in prison.
While on probation, the Escalante resident won’t be allowed in Garfield, Iron, Juab, Kane, Washington or Wayne counties, where Garkane Energy Cooperative operates an energy facility.
McRae was charged with a count of destruction of an energy facility in February 2017 for shooting the cooling fins at Garkane Energy Cooperative’s Buckskin Electrical Substation on Sept. 25, 2017.
The shooting ruptured the radiator piping, and “it literally bleed out,” causing a “major” power outages in Garfield and Kane County. The Salt Lake Tribune reported at the time that residents were without power for about eight hours.
It also cost $380,522 to repair the damage, according to the news release, which McRae has agreed to pay back.
McRae was initially also charged with counts of possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, but they were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
In the agreement, McRae admitted to shooting another substation in San Juan County and two more in Nevada. The shootings happened in April 2015 and in August and September of 2016. He was not charged in those shootings.
He will be formally sentenced July 30 and remains in federal custody.
