ST. FRANCIS — Exclusive video obtained by TMJ4’s Lighthouse team shows an explosion two months ago at a We Energies substation. Substations take high voltage power and lower it to send to customers.
A Milwaukee man is now charged with two felonies after prosecutors say he tried to cut a live wire that was connected to a transformer.
Surveillance video shows a high-voltage area illuminated with a pair of explosions and a man falling to the ground.
Watch: We Energies substation explosion caused by an attempted thief, criminal complaint says
“It’s first of all surprising someone is still alive,” said We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway. “Coming into contact with really high voltage is really dangerous. It’s about 10 to 20 times what would be in your home, in your home outlet.”
Conway says crews called St. Francis police in March for a property damage complaint at a substation on S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Court records say 44-year-old James Schneck cut through security fencing to allegedly steal copper. Instead, police say surveillance video shows him biking away with severe burns.
Conway says it also cost We Energies around $100,000 in damages and about 2,200 customers lost their power for a couple of hours.
“Is We Energies concerned that someone can just cut through one of these fences and get inside a huge substation? Reporter Ben Jordan asked.
“Sure,” Conway replied. “Listen, we are critical infrastructure, so this is something we work with the FBI, Homeland Security, and local police on.”
“Is We Energies doing anything to make sure someone isn’t able to just cut through a fence again?” Jordan asked.
“We are, yes,” Conway said. “We aren’t going to talk publicly about our security measures, but yes, we take these things seriously obviously.”
Prosecutors say police tracked Schneck down after finding a phone at the scene. The department used facial recognition software which matched the phone’s background photo to their suspect.
The criminal complaint shows in an interview with police, Schneck told officers, “It felt like my face was being burned with a blow torch.”
Schneck went on to say “he was doing this to make ends meet and that he has been scrapping for years.”
Conway says although this may be a first for the energy provider, he urges potential thieves that it should be the last.
“If you’re trying to look for scrap metal, you’re not going to find it in there,” he said. “If you’re hoping you can cut some wire to sell it, you could die doing that.”
The two counts Schneck's faces are for ‘criminal trespass to an energy provider property’ and 'intentional damage to energy provider property’.
If convicted on both counts, Schneck could face up to 12 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.
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