BOISE, Idaho — A Meridian, Idaho, man is facing three felony charges in two counties after officials say he shot a rifle at two electrical substations, fled from police and possessed potential explosive devices, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Randy Vail, 58, is charged in Washington County with attempting to flee law enforcement and possession of a bomb or destructive device. He also faces a charge of malicious injury to property in Adams County.
Washington County sheriff’s deputies arrested Vail near Cambridge early Friday morning. Deputies said they were dispatched at around 12:30 a.m. Friday for reports of a man on a white motorcycle who had fired a rifle at Hells Canyon and Brownlee dam substations. Both properties are owned and operated by Idaho Power.
According to the affidavit, two deputies found a man matching the suspect’s description near the intersection of Idaho 71 and Horse Flat Road, about 4 miles west of Cambridge and 25 miles southeast of Brownlee Dam.
Officials said they turned on their lights and sirens in attempting to pull Vail over on his motorcycle. Vail allegedly accelerated, driving 80 mph through a 25 mph zone in Cambridge and picking up more speed when he reached U.S. 95.
According to the affidavit, Vail “appeared to hold up a long black object as we were speeding through the canyon.” Deputies said they later identified that as a gun case holding two rifles.
Vail stopped the motorcycle near milepost 112, deputies said, and was arrested. Law enforcement reported finding “two tire repair cans that are used to hold compressed air” that smelled of gasoline. According to the affidavit, the canisters were attached to the motorcycle with ratchet straps.
One deputy said he asked Vail whether the objects were bombs, and Vail replied that they were gas canisters for the motorcycle. Deputies called Nampa Police Department’s bomb squad and were given the OK to move the canisters.
A news release from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office noted that no one was injured in the substation shootings and no customer power outages occurred from the incidents.
The news release also noted that the sheriff’s office worked with Meridian Police Department and the FBI to execute a search warrant on Vail’s Meridian home. The Idaho Statesman has reached out to Meridian officials for additional details.
According to court documents, Vail told police when he was arrested that he did not understand his Miranda rights. He refused to sign a notification of his rights and did not respond to questions from 3rd District Judge David Eames during a pretrial conference, prompting Eames to order an evaluation to determine whether Vail is mentally fit to proceed in court.
Spokesperson Brad Bowlin told the Statesman in an emailed statement that Idaho Power “believes the most recent incident is isolated in nature, and we are not aware of any current threats to our critical infrastructure.”
“As part of our physical security protocols, we don’t discuss details about specific threats or security measures,” Bowlin added. “Our physical and cyber security teams are constantly assessing the emerging threats to our assets and to the electrical grid in general. We work with state and federal regulators to ensure we are in compliance with current security standards, and we will continue to evaluate our systems in light of this recent incident.”
Bowlin declined to provide any other details, citing the ongoing investigation.
In the past several months, substations in North Carolina, Washington and Oregon have been damaged in various attacks. In February, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a bulletin that “domestic violent extremists” have looked at attacking electrical and communications infrastructure “as a means to create chaos and advance ideological goals.”
There is no evidence or indication yet that what Vail allegedly did had something to do with such attacks.
