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Hastings man charged in attempt to steal copper from Xcel site
Hastings man tried to make off with thousands of dollars in copper
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A Hastings man is charged with felony burglary and fleeing police after he was caught trying to steal thousands of dollars in copper from an Xcel Energy power substation.
Chad Donovan Fairburn, 38, was arrested Tuesday after officers were called to the 3200 block of Garfield Avenue S. on a report of a man trying to cut the gate and enter the substation, according to a criminal complaint filed this week in Hennepin County District Court. They arrived to spot a man later identified as Fairburn jump from the roof. A six-inch serrated saw blade was in his pocket.
Employees of the building told police there have been several recent copper thefts from the building. Fairburn told police he had broken into the substation to steal the copper because he was a laid-off painter behind on his bills.
Fairburn had entered and left the building through the roof because most of the first-floor doors had been locked or welded shut to prevent burglaries. When police searched the roof they found tools including a canvas bag, gloves, vise grips, cable cutter and blade piled next to $5,000 to $10,000 worth of copper.
ABBY SIMONS
