The power went out for about 15 seconds at the Eagan police station, and then the dispatchers got the report: A man was on fire.

Officers soon came upon a power outage just west of Pilot Knob Road and then a man in scorched clothes, in severe pain with burns. They got him to a hospital, then to jail.

Court papers say David P. Stachowiak, 34, of Blaine, had been trying to steal copper wiring at a power substation in December when he accidentally used himself to complete a circuit. He was thrown through the air and set on fire while knocking out power to homes and businesses, court documents say.

Charges filed this week in Dakota County District Court accuse Stachowiak and two other suspects of causing at least $80,000 in losses to a Dakota Electric substation just off Pilot Knob Road on Dec. 23, 2009.

Also charged were Brad J. Krekelberg, 33, and Alanna L. Magnuson, 30, both of St. Paul.

Magnuson later told police that she and the men had been involved in a string of such thefts. She said she sometimes served as a "scout" and would cash the checks from salvage yards where they'd sold the metal, a complaint says.

A St. Paul recycling plant employee to whom police showed photos of the suspects said they had sold more than 4,000 pounds of copper wire since 2008, the court papers say.

Magnuson told police that when Stachowiak had accidentally completed the circuit, he was launched 15 feet in the air, hit the ground, then ran 40 yards or so to the corner of the fence. He climbed 10 feet and fell back to the ground, still on fire.

She also told police that some copper in the trunk of the vehicle was from a prior theft that night at a cellphone tower.

The trio face three felony counts: theft or damage to telecommunications or energy transmission equipment, first-degree criminal damage to property and possession of burglary tools.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017