Tacoma man charged with damaging energy facilities across Washington
A former Tacoma resident accused last year of damaging electricity substations in the Portland area was indicted this month for conspiring to destroy energy facilities in Washington as part of a scheme to burglarize businesses and ATMs.
Zachary Rosenthal, 33, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court for Western Washington for conspiring to destroy energy facilities and six counts of destruction or attempted destruction of an energy facility, Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced Thursday.
Rosenthal has not yet entered a plea in the case, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Rosenthal is incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton for vehicular assault.
Between June and December 2022, Rosenthal allegedly conspired with others to damage six power substations in Pierce, Thurston, Lewis, Cowlitz and Grays Harbor counties.
Rosenthal and his co-conspirators are accused of using gunshots, smashing equipment or heavy chains to cause short circuits at the facilities, resulting in power outages affecting 1,000-6,000 customers per substation.
According to a copy of the indictment filed April 9, federal prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of the proceeds Rosenthal gained from his criminal scheme, which appeared to have been an attempt to use the power outages to burglarize businesses and ATMs.
Damage to Puyallup Substation in Pierce County occurred Nov. 20, 2022, according to the indictment. Two days later, he allegedly targeted the Tumwater Substation in Thurston County.
Around the same time, Rosenthal and Nathaniel Cheney of Centralia allegedly damaged a substation in the Portland area. Rosenthal was charged in federal court in Portland last year with three counts of damaging an energy facility for attacks on substations in Oregon City and Clackamas on Nov. 24 and Nov. 28, 2022. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said a trial in that case is scheduled for Nov. 3.
Damaging an energy facility with intent to cause a significant interruption and impairment of the function of the facility is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.
On Christmas Day 2022, attacks on four power substations in Pierce County put at least 15,500 people in the dark and caused $235,699 in damages. Two men, both from Puyallup, were charged in federal court and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to destroy energy facilities. Similar to the allegations in Rosenthal’s case, the men knocked out power to try to burglarize businesses.
Jeremy Crahan was sentenced Dec. 8, 2023 to 18 months in prison, and Matthew Greenwood was sentenced Jan. 19, 2024 to three years of probation, including one year of home confinement.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Tacoma man charged with damaging energy facilities across Washington."
