A Placerville man has admitted he was part of a multistate operation that stripped communications towers of critical power equipment and sold it off across the country.
On Thursday, March 5, 2026, prosecutors say 46-year-old Stephan James Evanovich pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to transport stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen property. According to court documents, he acknowledged selling more than 485 stolen rectifiers and other tower components through what investigators describe as a theft and resale ring that crossed state lines and relied on paperwork meant to make the deals look legitimate.
What prosecutors say
In a release, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California said Evanovich worked with co-conspirators Trevor Fountain, Jonathan Matthew Curl and Andrea Carter to illegally access remote communications towers and steal rectifiers. The office notes that rectifiers are a key power source that keeps those towers running and that Evanovich then sold the stolen gear to buyers in California, Illinois, Colorado and Texas.
The FBI Sacramento office highlighted the plea on X, publicly thanking the Weld County Sheriff's Office in Colorado for its investigative help and underscoring the scope of the haul, including the hundreds of rectifiers tied to the conspiracy.
How the ring operated
Court filings and earlier local reporting describe a setup where Fountain, Carter and Curl allegedly handled the physical thefts, targeting remote tower sites and delivering the equipment to Evanovich for resale. The operation is said to have leaned on fabricated invoices to make the transactions look aboveboard, a layer of paperwork that gave the stolen gear a veneer of legitimacy.
That earlier local reporting tracked the initial charges and first plea activity in the case; for background see Former Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty.
Legal consequences
Evanovich is scheduled for sentencing on June 11, 2026, and faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the FBI's post. Prosecutors say Fountain and Curl have also pleaded guilty and face maximum penalties of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; their sentencing dates are set for May 21 and April 23, 2026, respectively. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney with Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nchekube Onyima, per the Justice Department release.
Why this matters locally
Rectifiers are standard parts of tower power systems, so losing hundreds of them is not just a pricey headache for carriers, it also increases the risk of localized service outages while damaged sites are repaired or rebuilt. Beyond the immediate costs, investigators say the case shows how stolen infrastructure gear can be slipped into otherwise legitimate supply chains, making it harder to trace and replace.
With guilty pleas now on the record, the case shifts into the sentencing phase and highlights the coordination among the FBI, local sheriffs and federal prosecutors. Officials say they plan to share further updates as the case moves toward those sentencing hearings.
