Michael Yonak

WOODSFIELD — A man is accused of cutting down a power pole Monday night and attempting to cut down another, causing a power outage.

According to a release from Monroe County Sheriff Charles Black, Michael Yonak, 53, is currently being held on charges of disrupting public services and vandalism.

Black said Yonak had been involved in another incident late April.

“He attempted to run a vehicle off the road, rammed it with two young individuals in it,” Black said. “This guy was out on bond, a house arrest and wearing an ankle bracelet.”

He said Yonak was free on bond related to the April incident and confined to his stretch of property on Moore Ridge Road outside of Woodsfield with electronic monitoring.

“During the time he had been incarcerated, South Central had went on there and had replacement poles that had to be installed, which they replaced. (Monday) night South Central got contacted. They had power outages. We didn’t have any bad weather. We had a little bit of rain. In the process, when they got there they noticed that one pole was damaged where whoever it was — Mr. Yonak was attempting to cut a wedge out to cut the pole down. They pulled out, contacted law enforcement.”

In a release on the sheriff’s office Facebook page, Black said the saw being used to cut the pole apparently got stuck.

Black said deputies located Yonak and made a custodial arrest.

“There was a pole just down over the hill that he had already completely cut down, a power pole that was a main line. It dropped, it had 72,000 volts on it. Luckily it didn’t kill him, but then he was attempting to cut that second pole down,” Black said. “We arrested him for vandalism and interfering with public utilities or damaging public utilities.”

Black speculated that the damage and repairs would be expensive.

“We don’t have a total cost,” Black said. “Now they have to replace them.”

He said the prosecutor’s office had revoked Yonak’s previous bond.

Monroe County Prosecutor James Peters could not be reached for comment about what charges might be filed against Yonak.

The Monroe County Clerk of Courts office said Yonak was not yet scheduled to appear in court as of Tuesday.

Mark Owen, communications manager with South Central Power, responded to an emailed request for comment and said the incident is under investigation and that some details are not available to release at this time.

He confirmed that crews responded to an outage and observed damage to a utility pole and possible criminal activity. He said crews were able to restore power to those impacted by the outage as quickly and safely as possible.

“South Central Power reminds members of the public to avoid any contact with power company equipment for their own safety, as well as the safety of our employees and the public. Anyone suspected of tampering with utility equipment will be referred to law enforcement. South Central Power also asks members of the public to stay aware of their surroundings and to report any suspicious activity around power company equipment to their local law enforcement agency as well as the power company.”

To report power outages, call 800-282-5064.