Central Maine Man Arrested for Connecting Jumper Cables to CMP Transformer
A 36-year-old Wales, Maine man was arrested Tuesday for stealing power from CMP after connecting jumper cables to a transformer and running a power line to his house.
The Maine State Police received a complaint from the Central Maine Power Company (CMP) that Nicholas Gagne was stealing power. CMP requested an escort to disconnect the power from his residence.
According to the Maine State Police Facebook page, Gagne was climbing the pole outside of his house and connecting what amounted to jumper cable clamps to the transformer and then running a power line to the ground and to his house. This was the third time CMP had attempted to disconnect the service at the residence, but Gagne kept reconnecting it.
The CMP official was impressed with the ingenuity, but told Trooper Plourde that it was wildly dangerous for risk of electrocution to Gagne and those around the pole, as well as a significant fire danger, said police. It also posed a serious risk to the CMP workers when working on the lines.
CMP produced an invoice outlining over $3000 in stolen power, which did not include the labor at disconnecting the power multiple times. Trooper Plourde and Trooper Jamo went to the residence and spoke with Gagne who admitted to connecting the power to the residence.
He was arrested for Theft of Services, Class C, with a potential for other charges including Aggravated Criminal Mischief.