Piqua man who damaged cell towers sentenced to prison
A Piqua who vandalized multiple cell phone towers in Miami County last year now knows how long he’ll be in prison.
Christopher Daniels, 36, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison Monday, according to Miami County Common Pleas Court records.
Daniels was previously indicted on multiple charges, including aggravated trespass and disrupting public services. Last month, he took a plea deal and plead guilty to one count of aggravated trespass, one count of vandalism, two counts of trespass in a habitation and three counts of disrupting public services.
As part of the plea deal, additional charges were dismissed.
In early December 2022, Daniels drove to five different cell phone towers in Miami County and attempted to shut down the power by yanking cables. He successfully took out two of the towers, causing a 34-hour disruption in service for one and a 28-hour disruption for the other tower.
>> $1.4M winning lottery ticket yet to be claimed in Butler Co.
“He felt like he had to take out the cell phone towers,” Troy Police Officer Scott Gates previously told News Center 7. “He felt like they were powering some things in the clouds.”
After a competency evaluation, Daniels was found competent to stand trial.
During the sentencing, Daniels was also ordered to pay over $9,000 in restitution.
