Man charged with shutting off oxygen to North Memorial Hospital
A Minnesota man is charged with shutting off oxygen to a metro area hospital in December.
Thirty-nine-year-old Larry Raduenz Jr. of Robbinsdale was charged Wednesday with first-degree damage to property, a felony.
Raduenz is accused of shutting off oxygen to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale on Dec. 27.
According to the complaint, Raduenz climbed a fence near the oxygen tanks, broke cable ties and metal clasps and shut off the oxygen.
Engineers detected the pressure drop and discovered the vandalism. A hospital spokeswoman has said no patients were harmed.
"It is shocking that an individual would take a step like this to endanger the lives and wellbeing of innocent and hospitalized people," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement. "Our office is currently investigating this case and we will pursue other charges if evidence supports us doing so."
Raduenz was apprehended at a shelter in St. Paul Feb. 5. According to the attorney's office, he told investigators he was upset with the hospital and though initially denied any involvment with the oxygen tanks, later admitted he may have been the one to interfere with the tanks.
Raduenz is currently in custody and his bail has been set at $20,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.