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One arrested for suspected Grant PUD wire theft

NANCE BESTON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 3 weeks AGO
by NANCE BESTON
Staff Writer | January 7, 2026 3:00 PM

MOSES LAKE — On Jan. 3, Grant County Public Utility District filed a complaint with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office after noticing a hole cut in the chain link fence at the Wenatchee Drive substation.  

On Tuesday night, GCSO arrested Jeffrey Hughes, 50, of Moses Lake, for suspicion of stealing copper wire from Grant PUD, according to GCSO.  

Grant PUD reported both a hole in the fence and tool marks on the fence locks, which deputies assume was someone attempting to cut the locks, according to a statement from GCSO. Deputies also discovered a man with the same description as Hughes seen outside the substation fence in the early morning of Jan. 3. 

According to the Grant County Jail Roster, Hughes was booked for two Grant County District Court warrants and second-degree burglary.  

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