Suspicious Man Flees From San Jose PG&E Substation Previously Vandalized
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) - A suspicious man fled early Wednesday morning after he was spotted in a field near a PG&E transmission substation that was damaged by gunfire in a vandalism case last month, a Santa Clara County sheriff's spokesman said.
A security guard with a flashlight saw the man standing in an open field off of Coyote Rancho Road, near the utility's substation in the 100 block of Metcalf Road, at abut 3 a.m., sheriff's Deputy Kurtis Stenderup said.
The suspect, described as a white man dressed in black clothing, ran away down Metcalf Road, Stenderup said.
The guard called the sheriff's office, which dispatched eight units and set up a perimeter but was not able to locate the man, Stenderup said.
He did not appear to be a transient, and did not seem to be carrying anything with him, based on the security guard's description, Stenderup said.
"It's very odd why a person would be there at 3 a.m.," Stenderup said. "It's pure speculation on why that person was there."
At about 1:45 a.m. on April 16, PG&E officials informed the sheriff's office that the substation's security fence near Metcalf Road and Monterey Highway had been breached.
A PG&E spokeswoman said someone had fired rifle shots at the substation, damaging several transformers and causing cooling oil to spill.
Around the same time as the gunfire, AT&T reported that someone had cut fiber optic cables in two locations along Monterey Highway.
The shooting and cut cables are still being investigated, Stenderup said.
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