Just to close the loop on the October 30 posting by Dick Isely, it turns out that the authorities had a suspect in the removal of bolts from electric transmission line towers as early as October 23, when they issued a warrant for his arrest. However, for ten days they couldn't find him until he stopped at a police station and asked for directions to the FBI office so he could turn himself in. The following story was in Monday's San Francisco Chronicle. And despite his self-description (see below) fitting our demographic profile, as far as I can tell he's not a ham. Dave K1ZZ A 62-year-old Washington state man wanted by the FBI for pulling bolts from the legs of a Central Valley electrical tower was arrested Sunday and is scheduled to appear before a federal judge today in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. Saying he was tired of living on the lam, Michael Devyln Poulin of Spokane turned himself in Sunday morning. When he stopped at a South Sacramento California Highway Patrol office to ask for directions to the local FBI office, a CHP officer recognized him from a wanted poster and took him into custody, said FBI spokeswoman Karen Ernst. Poulin faces one criminal federal charge of damaging, or trying to damage, an energy facility. A federal arrest warrant was issued last month for Poulin, who is suspected of removing and loosening bolts from the legs of a high voltage transmission tower near the Sacramento Valley town of Anderson on Oct. 20. He is also wanted for questioning in connection with loosened and removed bolts from transmission tower legs in the Oregon locales of Madras, McNary, Klamath Falls and The Dalles; near Benton City, Wash.; and in Sacramento. Moments before turning himself in, Poulin spoke with the Associated Press and, while admitting no guilt, said his actions were necessary to highlight critical vulnerabilities in the power system. "We have a situation of one person, one wrench. The person in question is 62 years old, overweight, arthritic, diabetic, half-blind and a cancer patient living on a minimum of 12 medication pills a day," Poulin said, describing himself. Police and officials from Western Area Power Administration, which maintains the Anderson tower, said all the bolts were missing from one leg and about three-fourths were missing from another -- 13 bolts in all. Although the tower did not topple, officials said wind could have damaged the structure. Poulin is being held on a no-bail warrant in Sacramento County Jail. He is under the jurisdiction of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. His case will be heard in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, and if tried and convicted, he could face as much as 20 years in federal prison. Poulin was in prison in the early 1970s when he served eight years for attempted murder. Authorities said his criminal history includes the use of destructive devices causing mayhem. The new charge seems like overkill for a guy who was trying to make a political statement, according to Marianne Torres, who was married to Poulin until they divorced six weeks ago.