Man Charged With Damaging Internet Cable in Wausau Sentenced

Wednesday, December 20th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) The man accused of damaging a Spectrum internet cable, cutting off service to nearly half of Wausau for an entire afternoon, was sentenced on Monday.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, court records show George Wood will serve four years in the state prison system including two years in confinement and another two years on extended supervision.

The sentence was part of a deal that saw Wood enter a no contest plea to one count of criminal damage to a utility’s infrastructure. He also entered a no contest plea for felony bail jumping and possession of meth, while pleading guilty to one count of obstructing an officer.

Charges stem from an August 2022 incident in which Wood dug up some copper lines that were part of Spectrum’s network. The incident led to a widespread outage on Wausau’s west side and in some surrounding communities. Officers say some city-owned surveillance cameras captured the act. Tips from the public led them to arrest Wood later in the day.

Monday’s sentencing covered multiple open cases. Some counts were dismissed but read into the record, meaning Wood was not sentenced for them but their severity could factor in the judge’s decision.

The 56-year-old will also pay fines and court costs. His sentence also includes a written letter of apology to Spectrum and absolute sobriety from drugs and alcohol. Other charges that were dismissed included counts of retail theft and additional counts of bail jumping and obstructing an officer.

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