DETROIT — Just before 2 a.m. on a chilly April night in Seattle, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup stopped at an electric vehicle charging station on the edge of a shopping center parking lot.
America's major automakers have made heavy financial bets that buyers will shift away from combustion engines and embrace EVs as the world faces the worsening consequences of climate change. Accordingly, the companies have poured billions into EVs. Two other leading EV charging companies — Flo and EVgo — also have reported a rise in thefts. Charging stations in the Seattle area have been a frequent target. Sites in Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Pennsylvania have been hit, too.
The problem isn't confined to urban areas. In rural Sumner, Washington, about 30 miles south of Seattle, thieves cut cables twice at a Puget Sound Energy charging station. The company is working with police and the property owner to protect the station, which cost more than $500,000 to install. “If my battery was really low, I’d have quite an issue with operating my vehicle,” he said. “If it was so low that I couldn’t get to another charger, I might be in trouble. Might even need a tow truck.”
Still, the more cables the thieves can steal, the more they can cash in. At $20 a cable, 20 stolen cables could fetch them $400. The Recycled Materials Association, which represents 1,700 members, is issuing scrap-theft alerts from law enforcement officials so that members can be on the lookout for suspects and stolen goods.“If people are driving down the road and you see a gas-powered vehicle, a truck, at a charging station, that probably doesn't belong there,” he said.
LOS ANGELES — A Southern California socialite was sentenced Monday to 15 years to life in prison for the hit-and-run deaths of two young brothers in a crosswalk more than three years ago.PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon man who drugged his daughter and her friends with fruit smoothies laced with a sleeping medication after they didn’t go to bed during a sleepover was sentenced to two years in prison.