$800k in damages reported at Eaton Corp., man arrested on tampering charges

HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (WETM) — A man was arrested in Horseheads after police suspected him of causing more than $800,000 in damages to the Eaton Corporation over the weekend.

According to the Horseheads Village Police Department, 32-year-old Cory R. Roth was arrested on Monday after reports of a trespass and tampering with equipment inside the Eaton Corporation resulted on Saturday.

Police say that alarms went off on Saturday, March 30, inside Eaton Corp. in Horseheads where it was learned that someone had trespassed inside the building and shut off several large valves related to nitrogen and hydrogen storage.

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Other systems shut down during the trespass included the fire suppression system and valves related to furnace-specific cooling pumps.

Police say that because of the valves being shut down, the facility sustained severe damage as the pumps overheated and stopped working, with gas venting off and production shut down.

After police spoke to witnesses and reviewed security footage, Roth was deemed a suspect and was found at the Relax Inn on Fisherville Road in Horseheads.

Police say that Roth was the only person involved in the incident and was not a former employee. Roth was charged with criminal trespass in the third degree, a class B misdemeanor, criminal tampering in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor, criminal mischief in the second degree, a class D felony, and grand larceny in the second degree, a class C felony.

Roth was processed by the Horseheads Village Court and released.

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