An Arkansas man has pleaded guilty in a series of attacks on a power grid in the central part of the state.
U.S. Attorney Christopher Thayer said Tuesday that 38-year-old Jason Woodring of Jacksonville pleaded guilty to the attacks between August and October 2013.
Prosecutors agreed that Woodring should receive a 15-year sentence in federal prison under the plea deal. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18.
Woodring admitted to downing a 500,000-volt power line onto a railroad track near Cabot, cutting down power poles and setting fire to an electrical station in Scott.
He was arrested in October 2013 following an explosion under power lines near his home.
In a written statement, Thayer said:
The citizens of Central Arkansas can rest a bit easier today with the plea of Jason Woodring, The power grid attacks had the potential to put many lives at risk. When we depend on electrical power not only for comfort and convenience, but also for safety, security and life-sustaining equipment, not knowing where the next attack would occur held the public hostage to an unknown attacker. I am extremely grateful to all the investigators from the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Union Pacific Police, Entergy, First Electric, Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office, Cabot Police, Arkansas State Police, Conway Police Department, Little Rock Police Department and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for their cooperation and commitment to this investigation these past few months.
