Man who damaged cell towers to ‘stop the aliens’ apologizes, sent to prison

Daniels found sane, says he “made very poor decisions;” attorney cites drug and mental health issues.
Miami County Courthouse

Miami County Courthouse

TROY — A Piqua man who caused extensive damage to multiple cellular towers in Miami County was sentenced Monday to three and one half years in prison.

Christopher Daniels, 36, initially was indicted on 15 counts including aggravated trespassing, trespassing in a habitation, disrupting public service and vandalism in connection with December incidents in Troy and the surrounding area. Most of the victims were cellular service companies.

Troy police reported Daniels told an officer investigating the vandalism and related incidents that they needed to “stop the aliens from coming and said they are getting us through our power source.”

Daniels was found competent to stand trial and sane at the time of the offenses following an evaluation ordered by the court.

As part of a plea deal, Daniels pleaded guilty to one count each of vandalism and aggravated trespass, two counts of trespass in a habitation and three counts of disrupting public service. Additional charges of the same nature were dismissed.

Judge Stacy Wall sentenced Daniels in county Common Pleas Court to the prison time along with restitution of $9,130. Wall noted another victim said it incurred around $20,000 in damage but did not seek restitution.

Public defender John Herndon said Daniels said he had been using drugs before the offenses and needed to talk to mental health professionals and to work to pay off damage to the property owners.

Daniels apologized for his actions, saying his life a couple of years ago “made a terrible turn” and he “made very poor decisions.”

Prosecuting Attorney Tony Kendell asked for prison time for Daniels.

Wall said Daniels caused extensive damage to towers, including one that served users in a five-mile radius. Daniels admitted to using alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin, she said, but told a court pre-sentence investigation writer that he did not have substance abuse problems and didn’t want treatment.

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