An Ohio man has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after damaging cell towers because of a fear that "aliens were coming."
Christopher Andrew Daniels, 36, damaged multiple towers across Miami County, Ohio, Dayton Daily News reports.
Daniels pled guilty in court to causing the damage and was charged with 15 counts which include two felony counts of aggravated trespass, disrupting public services, vandalism, and one count of misdemeanor possession of criminal tools for damage to a Verizon tower and an AT&T tower.
When caught vandalizing the towers, Daniels told a police officer he was doing so to "stop the aliens from coming" which he said are “getting us through our power source."
He was found competent to stand trial and sane at the time of the offenses following a court-ordered evaluation, reported the publication.
Daniels agreed to a plea deal and apologized in court noting he "made very poor decisions" during the period he committed the offenses, while public defender John Herndon said Daniels said he had been using drugs before the offenses and needed to talk to mental health professionals and to work to pay off damage to the property owners.
On top of his prison time, Daniels was sentenced to pay restitution of $9,130 by Judge Stacy Wall, who also revealed another victim said he caused around $20,000 in damage but was not seeking restitution from Daniels.
Wall stated that one of the towers Daniels damaged led to issues for a community across a five-mile radius.
Daniels admitted to using alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamines, and heroin, said Wall, but he had told a court pre-sentence investigation writer that he did not have substance abuse problems and didn't need treatment.
