Suspects accused of stealing downed Duke Energy power lines

Man had drugs hidden in Play-Doh container, deputies say

Charles Mahoy and Andrea Foster

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – A man and a woman are accused of cutting and stealing power lines that fell in Altamonte Springs when Hurricane Irma hit the area, according to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.

A witness called 911 around 7 p.m. on Saturday and said someone was cutting downed power lines on Academy Drive and Pisgah Drive. The neighborhood was without power and there was some slight flooding in the street.

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When a deputy arrived, he saw Andrea Foster, 45, and Charles Mahoy, 41, in the witness' yard, the report said. Foster had wire cutters in her hand and Mahoy had gloves hanging out of his pocket, according to deputies.

Mahoy told the deputy that a white pickup truck parked nearby with spools of power line in the bed was his vehicle, the report said.

Foster and Mahoy were placed into custody in connection with the $5,000 worth of Duke Energy power lines that had been cut and placed into the bed of the truck, according to authorities.

After Mahoy was placed in handcuffs, he told the deputy that he didn't think he was stealing because the wire was on the ground and that he needed the money because his home was damaged during the storm, the report said.

The deputy searched Mahoy's vehicle and found four individual baggies of a green leafy substance presumed to be marijuana and a small baggie of methamphetamine inside a Play-Doh container in the center front storage compartment of the vehicle, according to the affidavit.

A glass smoking pipe and some loose marijuana were found inside a purse in the vehicle, deputies said.

A representative from Duke Energy told authorities that the company was willing to prosecute.

Mahoy and Foster were both charged with larceny during a state of emergency and other drug-related charges, jail records show.