After Moore County blackout, lawmaker wants tougher punishment for destroying electrical equipment

Paul Woolverton, The Fayetteville Observer
·3 min read
1

CARTHAGE — As Moore County residents entered their third cold night without electricity on Monday, state Sen. Tom McInnis promised to toughen North Carolina’s laws to ensure that anyone who damages or destroys electric utility equipment again will be severely punished.

“Absolutely, absolutely,” McInnis said during an interview Monday evening in a vacant lot in Carthage where members of the Robbins First Baptist Church had set up a grill and were giving hotdogs, water and snacks to their hungry neighbors. The power has been off in most of Moore County since Saturday evening, when one or more people fired a gun or guns at two Duke Energy electrical substations, causing heavy damage.

A Duke Energy spokesman on Monday said 45,000 homes, businesses and other customers lost power. As of Monday evening some power had been restored, but 32,000 customers were still in the dark.

This sign on Dec. 5, 2022, reminds people in Moore County, N.C., near the town of Carthage, that there is an overnight curfew in effect due to a blackout that started on Dec. 3 when someone used a gun or guns to heavily damage two electrical substations. Most of the county was affected. Repairs to restore power are not expected to be complete until Thursday, Dec. 8.

McGinnis said he has already set things in motion for him to file legislation to address similar damage in the future.

At his behest, lawyers at the North Carolina General Assembly “are doing research on what the ... crime is here that’s been committed, what the penalty for that crime could be, and to make sure that that penalty equals the crime,” McInnis said.

“If the crime’s up here, and the penalty’s down here, we’ve got a problem,” McInnis said, raising one hand over his head and putting the other hand down low to illustrate.

State. Sen. Tom McInnis of Moore County
State. Sen. Tom McInnis of Moore County

“We need to make sure that the crime and the penalty are equal,” he said.

McInnis’ initial impression is that the punishment is “not severe,” he said, but noted this is just his first impression and that he wants to look at the laws more closely.

North Carolina law has several statutes regarding property damage, and some that specifically address damage to electric utility lines and equipment.

There is a misdemeanor charge for damaging power lines and their supporting equipment. Another law says it’s a Class I felony — the lowest level of felony in North Carolina — to damage electrical power lines, utility poles and any other apparatus and equipment used to transmit electrical power.

People with no criminal record with a Class I felony conviction get probation and don’t go to prison unless they violate their probation, according to the sentencing chart in a prison sentencing guide published by the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission. Those with extensive prior criminal records can at most serve two years in prison per charge, the chart says.

Members of the Robbins First Baptist Church of Robbins, N.C., prepare hotdogs for their hungry neighbors in Carthage, N.C., on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, during Moore County, N.C.'s ongoing blackout. Pictured are John Galloway, his wife Casey Galloway at left, and Sherri McNeill.
Members of the Robbins First Baptist Church of Robbins, N.C., prepare hotdogs for their hungry neighbors in Carthage, N.C., on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, during Moore County, N.C.'s ongoing blackout. Pictured are John Galloway, his wife Casey Galloway at left, and Sherri McNeill.

Updates from Monday:LIVE UPDATES Moore County substation attacks: 35K still without power as temperatures drop

Robbins church brings food and water to hungry people

Carthage area residents were grateful for the hotdogs and water from the members of the Robbins First Baptist Church.

The event was organized by church member John Galloway, said Pastor Kenneth McNeill. Galloway is a retired Fayetteville Fire Department captain, and his wife, Casey, used to work there, too. Shortly before 5 p.m., John Galloway estimated that at least 300 hotdogs had been served.

Jamie Morgan, at left, chats with Tasha Bandy of Carthage, North Carolina, after giving Bandy hotdogs, snacks and water on the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, during the Moore County blackout. Tens of thousands of residents, including Bandy and her family, have been without power since the evening of Dec. 3.
Jamie Morgan, at left, chats with Tasha Bandy of Carthage, North Carolina, after giving Bandy hotdogs, snacks and water on the afternoon of Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, during the Moore County blackout. Tens of thousands of residents, including Bandy and her family, have been without power since the evening of Dec. 3.

And as the sun went down, people lined up.

“I really want to thank these people because that’s very nice of them,” said Tasha Bandy of Carthage. She said she and her husband and three children have had a difficult time since losing their electricity on Saturday evening.

Her family got a generator Sunday night, but she had to travel to Sanford and Fayetteville to get gasoline for it and her car. The gas pumps in Moore County had no electricity to operate, and the gas stations in nearby Hoke County had run out, Bandy said.

Ronnie Morgan of Moore County, N.C., grills hotdogs in the town of Carthage on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, for his fellow residents who have been without electricity since the previous Saturday evening. Someone knocked out two electrical substations with gunfire, putting tens of thousands of people in the dark.
Ronnie Morgan of Moore County, N.C., grills hotdogs in the town of Carthage on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, for his fellow residents who have been without electricity since the previous Saturday evening. Someone knocked out two electrical substations with gunfire, putting tens of thousands of people in the dark.

She took her work computer to her mother’s home in Hoke County so she could get electricity to power it without burning through the gasoline in the generator at home, she said.

Meanwhile, the family’s food in their freezer and refrigerator has spoiled, Bandy said.

“It’s been hard,” she said. “It’s been rough, but I feel like at the end of the day that something good will come out of this, especially with God … being part of it.”

Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC senator wants higher punishment for damaging electric equipment