Rachel and Michael Cowan stole more than $45,000 worth of batteries from six towers in Cincinnati, Ohio, which left customers without cell service for about seven hours. As previously reported, the Gilbert, AZ, couple were thought to have caused more than $1 million in damage to T-Mobile equipment. Warrants were out for Michael’s arrest, and his wife later became a suspect. The suspects were eventually found after their own cell phones pinged a nearby tower, alerting the police to their whereabouts. With the two in custody, police have connected them to similar thefts in North Dakota and Minnesota.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, in one incident the Cowans are also accused of triggering a power surge that caused an interruption in a southeast Indiana mobile network for approximately seven hours. Michael previously worked as a sub-contractor, which is how he learned the codes and was able to break into the tower sites. The two would then take the batteries to scrap yards. After the police found them on March 29, they continued to sell batteries. Police attempted to place a GPS tracker on the couple’s car, but Michael located that and removed it. After that, the two likely left the state. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that on April 12, the police were notified after Michael’s phone ping a nearby tower, and after the incidents in Minnesota were compared to those in Cincinnati, Minnesota officials requested the issuance of a nationwide complaint warrant in early April. Michael was eventually arrested on July 12 in North Dakota. Rachel was extradited to Hamilton County on August 7.
Cowan plead guilty to his theft of property charge in North Dakota and was sentenced to 43 days in jail. He was also forced to pay $7,340 in restitution fees, the news outlet reported. The two face seven counts of fifth-degree felony breaking and entering, four counts of fifth-degree felony theft and one charge of fourth-degree felony disruption of public services (Cincinnati Enquirer). If found guilty on all counts, they face up to 13 years in person each.
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