By Patrick Yost
Editor

A Rutledge man died last Friday after he was apparently electrocuted while trying to reconnect power to his Atlanta Highway residence.

Kevin Mitchell Lashley, 46, was pronounced dead at the scene by Morgan County Coroner Adam Carter after a juvenile notified authorities that he observed Lashley on the ground near a power pole.

According to Corp. Lisa Reynolds, Morgan County Sheriff's Office, investigators found Lashley near a power pole in his yard. Next to the pole, Reynolds said, was a pick-up truck with an aluminum ladder placed on the truck’s tailgate and leaning against the power pole. Investigators also located a long, metal pole that had a 90-degree turn fabricated at one end. The end of the pole had burn marks consistent with electrical contact.

Investigators also located a meter base on the side of the house that, reports state, had been tampered with. A "lock–out" tag on the meter base had been cut and two metal pieces had been placed in the meter to complete an electrical circuit.
Deputies were called to the scene at approximately 4:30 p.m.

Printed in the October 4, 2012 edition.