Duo Allegedly Cut Cables, Took 40K People Offline

2 suspects arrested in Connecticut incident
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 3, 2023 3:01 AM CDT
2 People Charged With Knocking 40K People Off the Internet
Austin Keith Geddings   (Norwalk Police Department)

More than 40,000 customers in the Norwalk, Connecticut, area lost internet service March 24, and police say two people are to blame. Jillian Nicole Person, 30, and Austin Keith Geddings, 26, both of North Carolina, were arrested April 1 after a surveillance operation, WTNH reports. Person was taken into custody without incident inside a Connecticut business and Geddings was found shortly after in a wooded area nearby, police say. They are accused of cutting more than 2,000 fiberoptic cable lines belonging to internet service provider Optimum, the New Canaanite reports. The outage, which took place on a Friday morning, flooded the New Canaan library with locals needing to use its WiFi.

The Norwalk Police Department says it "assumed the investigation and quickly identified a suspect vehicle and developed suspects." Both suspects face charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal mischief, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, and interfering with a police officer. Person also faces a charge of providing a false statement and Geddings also faces a charge of criminal attempt to commit first-degree larceny. They are being held with bail set at $200,000, and their arraignment is scheduled for April 11. No alleged motive has yet been disclosed, CBS News reports. (More weird crimes stories.)

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