Canyon couples sentenced for copper thefts

Two Hungry Horse couples convicted of stealing copper ground wire from power substations across the Flathead Valley were sentenced Dec. 18-19 in U.S. District Court in Missoula.

Bobby Matney, 28, will serve 10 months in prison and three years on supervised release. His ex-wife, Terra Matney, 33, will serve three months in prison and three years on supervised release.

Matney’s former brother-in-law, Anthony Conner, 31, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years supervised release. His wife, Amanda Conner, 29, was sentenced to three years on probation. 

Between them, the couples were ordered to pay more than $73,000 in restitution. All four had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to destroy or damage property of an energy facility. 

According to court documents, the couples were linked to copper thefts at seven of the 11 Flathead Electric Cooperative and Bonneville Power Administration substations that were hit in the Flathead between October 2007 and March 2008. The thefts caused more than $87,000 in damage and losses.

The couples were apprehended after breaking into the Co-op’s Bad Rock substation in mid-March, where they stole 70 to 75 feet of copper wire worth $2,000, causing $1,000 in property damage.

The same night, they broke into BPA’s Columbia Falls substation, causing thousands of dollars more in damage, before being scared away by police.

On March 20, investigators arrested Bobby Matney and Anthony Conner at the Dam Town Tavern in Hungry Horse after receiving a tip that linked the suspects’ vehicle to the earlier theft at the Bad Rock substation. Detectives also found footprints and a beer can with Bobby Matney’s fingerprints on it at the Bad Rock substation.

Authorities recovered 31 pounds of custom-stamped copper wire stolen from the Bad Rock substation and sold to Pacific Steel and Recycling for $46.50.

Authorities recovered receipts in the name of Terra Conner from copper sales to Pacific Steel on five separate occasions in October and once in January.

Prosecutors suspect the couples also are connected to copper wire thefts from Co-op substations in Whitefish, Kalispell and Columbia Heights. The Bad Rock substation was hit three times between October 2007 and March 2008.

Investigators also suspect the Matneys and Conners have stolen copper wire from substations throughout the U.S.

Anthony Conner told investigators the Matneys had hit substations hundreds of times, starting in Kansas City and in every other state from Montana to Virginia. Bobby Matney and Anthony Conner would cut through fences around the substations, ignoring large signs warning of high voltage and danger.