Workers doing repairs in a tunnel below St. Paul’s High Bridge this week found copper wire had been stolen, causing $75,000 to $100,000 in damage.

When employees returned to the tunnel system Tuesday, a mechanic saw two people in the tunnel. Police responded, monitored three exits to the tunnel and arrested two people who exited.

Hadi Nora Marshall, 38, of Scandia, and Joseph Austin Montean, 35, of Forest Lake. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County sheriff’s office)

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office on Wednesday charged Hadi Nora Marshall, 38, of Scandia, and Joseph Austin Montean, 35, of Forest Lake with aiding and abetting damage or theft of wire or cable and possession of burglary or theft tools.

Officers saw the pair exit near Shepard Road, and drop a collapsible ladder and backpack, according to criminal complaints. When officers arrested them, Marshall said, “We’re medics!”

Police found a reciprocating saw, bright yellow reflective clothing and a Nomex-lined glove in Montean’s backpack, the complaints said. Nomex is a flame-resistant material. There were a pair of wire cutters and a combustible gas detector in Marshall’s backpack, according to the complaints.

Marshall said she is an urban explorer and that people check in when going into tunnels; if they don’t check out, she goes to look for them, the complaints continued.

She and Montean said they went in the tunnel to look for a missing person named Cassandra. Marshall said they encountered scrappers; she said they had not stolen copper from the tunnels.

Neither of their backpacks had medical supplies or equipment, the complaints said.

Xcel Energy employees went in the tunnel system after the arrests and didn’t find anyone else.

Police asked Montean about the saw in his bag and he said they found it “down there,” the complaints said. There was a small piece of copper wedged on the saw.

Marshall and Montean are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Thursday. Attorneys for them weren’t listed in their case files as of Wednesday afternoon.

Accessed another tunnel

Xcel Energy workers were doing repairs because of stolen copper in a tunnel below the Smith Avenue bridge on Monday. They returned Tuesday to continue repairs and that’s when a mechanic saw two people in a utility tunnel.

Related Articles

St. Paul woman charged in hit-and-run that injured two pedestrians

Nicolae Miu gets 20 years for fatally stabbing Stillwater teen Isaac Schuman on Apple River

White Bear Lake man, 20, stabbed near his home remains hospitalized, but condition improving

Newport man receives 30½-year prison sentence for fatally shooting cousin at transit center

Convicted Apple River stabber Nicolae Miu faces sentencing on Wednesday: What to know

One wore a yellow construction safety vest and the other shined a flashlight at the mechanic. The two people turned and walked in the other direction.

Xcel employees later found that someone had dug through the ceiling of their sandstone tunnel and accessed a tunnel above theirs that contained wires belonging to another service provider.

The damage was new and hadn’t been there when they left Monday night. Below the hole in the ceiling were carts and two-wheeled dollies. Copper wire that had been cut from Xcel Energy and other systems was strapped to the carts.

In an effort to further address copper wire theft, the Legislature passed new measures this year that will require people to obtain a state-issued license to sell scrap copper; people with a license to perform electrical work will be excluded.

After a hit-and-run crash injured two pedestrians in St. Paul, police found car parts left behind and received an anonymous tip leading them to a suspect, according to a criminal complaint.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged Pa Chia Vang, 44, in July with two counts of criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm and leaving the scene in the May collision.

Pa Chia Vang (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Officers were called to the intersection of Idaho and White Bear avenues shortly before midnight on May 4. They found a woman lying on the ground near the parking lot of Exquisite Cake Bakery. She had a puddle of blood behind her head and St. Paul fire medics took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with fractured pelvic bones and spinal fractures.

She told police she only remembered walking with her sister-in-law, and said they looked both ways before crossing Idaho Avenue. The next thing she remembered was being in the hospital.

Another injured pedestrian was nearby and medics brought her to the hospital in critical condition. Her injuries included a skull fracture, a traumatic brain injury, fractured ribs and spinal injuries.

She later told police that she and the other injured woman had been at the White Dragon Bar on White Bear Avenue and were crossing the street on their way back to the car.

Officers spoke to a witness who reported a black sport-utility vehicle sped west on Idaho Avenue when the two women were crossing the street. The SUV struck both women and continued driving north on White Bear Avenue.

Surveillance video from the area showed the driver of the SUV appeared to brake upon impact and then the vehicle swerved before continuing on.

Officers also found two car parts that appeared to be left behind from the black SUV. They were identified as coming from a BMW X5 that was made between 2000 and 2006.

Police asked for tips in the case on June 5.

Officers received an anonymous tip, reporting that a woman who lived on Bradley Street near Arlington Avenue drove a black BMW SUV that may have been involved. On June 6, officers found a 2005 BMW X5 — with damage to its front end — parked on Bradley Street in front of Pa Chia Vang’s home.

Vang’s husband is the vehicle’s registered owner and Pa Chia Vang had her identification scanned at the White Dragon, the complaint said.

Surveillance video showed a person who appeared to be Vang went in the White Dragon at 9:26 p.m. on May 5 and left at 11:52 p.m. She “stumbled” as she left and someone helped her continue walking, according to the complaint.

Vang’s attorney couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Related Articles

Nicolae Miu sentenced for fatally stabbing Stillwater teen on Apple River

White Bear Lake man, 20, stabbed near his home remains hospitalized, but condition improving

Newport man receives 30½-year prison sentence for fatally shooting cousin at transit center

Convicted Apple River stabber Nicolae Miu faces sentencing on Wednesday: What to know

Jury acquits boyfriend of former St. Kate’s dean accused of swindling $400K from the school