SAN JUAN COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — A man from New Mexico was arrested in Utah after allegedly smashing solar panels in San Juan County.
66-year-old Stephen McRae was arrested and booked on two counts of property damage/destruction worth more than $5000, which are second-degree felonies, after allegedly breaking the solar panels in several locations.
According to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, an individual reported seeing a suspect climbing onto a solar panel via a security camera on October 17, 2025. The suspect can reportedly be seen cutting the power source connection using a hatchet and taking the camera before getting back into his vehicle, reportedly an older model Suzuki Grand Vitara.
Using the camera’s audio capabilities, the owner of the camera asks the suspect “Is there something I can do for you,” prior to the suspect cutting off the power. The suspect is seen wearing light-colored pants, a red sweater vest with a long black shirt underneath. He also had glasses and white hair.
The owner of the camera arrived to the area and found that his solar panels had been smashed with an object consistent with the hatchet seen in the suspect’s hands in the video.
Reportedly, the solar panel set up provided electricity that pumps water into troughs for cattle and wildlife, and each panel set up was estimated at $8,000.
Officers determined that similar damage was reported to four other solar panel set ups in the area. The total damage is estimated at $40,000.
Later, a vehicle matching the one that the suspect got into on the security camera was seen in San Juan County on County Road 263. Stephen McRae was determined to be the owner of the vehicle.
Law enforcement contacted McRae and observed that McRae’s outfit matched the one that the suspect was wearing in the security camera footage. They also learned that McRae likely lives in his vehicle and is from New Mexico.
He was booked and detained on October 19, 2025, but he was released after posting bail.
Feb. 25, 2026 The new president of NAI Sioux Falls anticipates a strong year ahead…
ALISA VIEJO, Calif., Feb. 25, 2026, CyberNewswire—One Identity, a trusted leader in identity security, today…
Isaih.xyz – GoDaddy customer – (United States) Artists, makers, and independent retailers use .xyz domains…
Today: Share Your Brandable Domain and How You Think About Length / .deal – gTLD…
A suspected Chinese state-linked hacking group has been caught running one of the most far-reaching…
Today's links The whole economy pays the Amazon tax: You can't shop your way out…
This website uses cookies.