CLEVELAND — A Cleveland man arrested in 2023 for allegedly attempting to derail trains has been sentenced to two years in federal prison and three years of probation.
Joseph Findley, 43, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of violence against railroad carriers. He was arrested in October 2023 after allegedly wedging spikes into switches or other sections of track in five occasions over a three-month period [see “Cleveland man arrested …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 7, 2023].
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese also ordered Findley to pay $10,544 to CSX Transportation for damage caused to the tracks and the cost of the investigation. The CSX tracks involved are also used by Amtrak.
No motive for the action was determined, but Findley’s defensive attorney said he was suffering from “massive alcohol addiction” at the time. FBI agents found tens of thousands of empty beer cans in his home.
Findley apologized during the hearing and said he would “pay back every dime.”
Had the defendant sabotaged a highway instead of a railroad,what might the sentence be? Sabotage would be something that would make a collision inevitable.