COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Van Buren County prosecutors are charging a 45-year-old Grand Junction man after the sheriff’s office investigated stolen electricity in Columbia Township.
Trent Keech is charged with malicious destruction of utility property, and public utility fraudulent use over $500.
Sheriff’s deputies allege Keech had been stealing the power since January 2024 when his electricity was shut off.
They were sent to a home in Columbia Township this summer to recover a stolen trailer and noticed someone had tampered with the home’s power supply line and contacted Consumers Energy.
The investigation discovered that the home’s electric service meter had been altered, allowing for unmetered power to flow into the residence.
Deputies say the tampering caused damage to the utility equipment of over $5,700.
Keech is due back in court on November 5th and 12th, and bond was set at $7,500.
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