ARABI, La. (WGNO)— Three people have been arrested in connection to an oil spill at an Entergy substation that dumped thousands of gallons of oil into a St. Bernard Parish bayou earlier this week.
According to St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann, three men have been charged with criminal damage to property:
- Ronald Clark (Age 55)
- Gerard Henninger Jr. (Age 30)
- Jeremy Johnston (Age 34)
Pohlmann reports that the suspects are accused of moving the valves of two large oil-filled transformers in at the substation in Arabi. According to a release by the sheriff’s office, the substation was left inactive after the community was struck by a tornado back in March, however, this all changed within the last week.
A call received by the SBSO around 9:30 a.m. Sunday reported suspicious activity around the station. When deputies arrived, they found what has been described as ‘green slime’ in the marsh that was leaking from the transformers.
By Monday, it was estimated that 20,000 gallons of oil had been released into Bayou Bienvenue. While working with a local scrap yard, the sheriff’s office was able to identify Clark, Henninger, and Johnston as suspects in the investigation.
The three men were arrested on Thursday (Sept. 29) in connection to the incident. They have all been booked into the St. Bernard Parish Prison. An investigation into the oil spill remains ongoing by the SBSO.
Anyone with any additional information is urged to contact the SBSO at (504) 271-2501, Criminal Investigations Bureau’s tip hotline at (504) 271-TIPS or 8477, or Crimestoppers GNO at (504) 822-1111. Click here to submit an anonymous tip to Crimestoppers online.
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