2 men accused of breaking into AES Ohio substation; 1 facing charges

XENIA — A Xenia man is facing charges after he and another man allegedly broke into an AES Ohio substation in Greene County.

On Wednesday, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office received an alarm through AES Ohio about a “terminal area,” Sheriff Scott Anger told News Center 7.

Dispatchers got reports of a suspicious person at the AES Ohio substation on in the 1200 block of Dayton-Xenia Road.

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When they arrived on scene, deputies saw a vehicle outside the fenced in area, as well as two suspects. Anger said the suspects had cut the fence to enter the area.

Police detained two people on scene. Larry Maddox, 45, of Xenia, was arrested on breaking and entering, as well as tampering with evidence charges. A second local man had not been charged at the time of our interview with the sheriff.

The men allegedly broke into the area looking for scrap metal, but there was an initial concern that they were trying to do something that could impact the grid or utilities.

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“We’ve had recent activities throughout the country; we’ve had meetings with the power companies to go over some protocols to make sure that we have better security,” Anger said. “In this instance, it worked out exactly the way it was.”

Anger commended the speed at which officers were able to respond to the scene after receiving the initial alarm.

“Our deputies are trained to take those kinds of calls very seriously and we had a great response to the call,” he said.

The sheriff wanted to remind the public that it is important to say something if you see something suspicious.

News Center 7 has reached out to AES Ohio for comment on the incident. We’re awaiting a response.

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