A 33-year-old Tacoma man pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court in Portland to charges accusing him of damaging two power substations in Oregon in 2022.
Zachary Rosenthal was charged with three counts of damaging an energy facility for allegedly attacking two facilities at substations located in Portland suburbs on Nov. 24 and Nov. 28, 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon announced Tuesday. The charges came after a federal grand jury returned an indictment.
Federal prosecutors allege that Rosenthal intended to interrupt or impair the function of both facilities in Oregon City and Clackamas. According to a news release, both substations transmit and distribute electricity. He is accused of causing damages exceeding $100,000 at the Oregon City substation and $5,000 at the substation in Clackamas.
An alleged accomplice, 30-year-old Nathaniel Adam Cheney of Centralia is accused of helping Rosenthal damage the Clackamas substation on Nov. 28, 2022. Prosecutors said he was arraigned April 10, 2023 and pleaded not guilty to two counts of damage to an energy facility. He was released with conditions pending a jury trial scheduled to begin Aug. 20.
Rosenthal made his initial appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks, according to court records. After he pleaded not guilty, Rosenthal was detained pending further court proceedings. Before the arraignment, court records show Rosenthal was housed at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton.
A second indictment was unsealed Tuesday that charged Rosenthal with stealing firearms from a federal firearms licensee and illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon. Prosecutors allege he stole 24 guns in January 2023 from a licensee in the Portland area. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that the gun dealer was a pawn shop in Milwaukie, Oregon.
Damaging an energy facility and causing more than $100,000 in damages is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and three years' supervised release. Damaging an energy facility and causing more than $5,000 in damages is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and three years' supervised release.
On Christmas Day 2022, attacks on four power substations in Pierce County put at least 15,500 people in the dark and caused $235,699 in damages. Two men, both from Puyallup, were charged in federal court and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to destroy energy facilities. Jeremy Crahan was sentenced Dec. 8, 2022 to 18 months in prison, and Matthew Greenwood was sentenced Jan. 19 to three years of probation, including one year of home confinement.
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