Homeland Security elevates charge against man accused of BLP trespassing

Fri, Oct 10, 2008    to del.icio.us

A Muskegon man will face felony charges for trespassing after a September incident at the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power's Sims Plant.

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According to the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety, the 26-year-old man was apprehended on Sept. 12. Trespassing violations are normally considered misdemeanors, GHDPS Lt. Renee Freeman said, but protocols put in place after Sept. 11, 2001, list the power plant as a "key facility."

The Department of Homeland Security and the Joint Terrorism Task Force were contacted, Freeman said, and advisers from those agencies were instrumental in the decision to pursue felony charges. A warrant was authorized on Oct. 8 and the man was taken into custody. Trespassing on a key facility is a four-year felony.

A power plant employee who makes hourly rounds throughout the Harbor Island plant campus was the first to spot the suspect, according to BLP spokeswoman Renee Molyneux. She said the suspect was wearing all black.

"One of our employees saw him on the site and approached him and he took off running," Molyneux said.

The employee got into a vehicle and followed the suspect, who then ran into the brush, she said. The employee then used the plant's intercom system to ask staff to call 911.

She said all employees are trained in safety procedures through mandatory training exercises, and called the employee's response "quick and decisive."

Molyneux said the police discovered the suspect walking down the street with wet clothing.

"We were very pleased that (the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety) was able to detain him," Molyneux said. "You just can't have people wandering into a critical infrastructure sites."

The plant is listed as a critical site because it provides area electricity and has its own port, she said. According to police, the plant is clearly marked with no trespassing signs, but the suspect indicated he did not see the signs and walked beyond the fence onto the property. He posted bond and is awaiting arraignment.

Plant Operations Supervisor John Harloff said this was the first security breach since a man walked barefoot across the river and climbed onto the coal conveyor belt in November 1999.

"I'm glad to see the prosecutor approve pressing the four-year felony charge for the overall safety and security of these sites," said Michael Moll, protective security adviser for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Grand Rapids office.