A Florida man who fired a gun near two electric cooperative lineworkers responding to an outage has been sentenced to five years in prison, a case co-op leaders say underscores the need to protect utility employees from threats and violence.

Immanuel Zachariah Benjamin Smith, 30, was sentenced Aug. 21 by Circuit Judge Kristie Healis to five years in the Florida Department of Corrections followed by two years of felony probation, according to the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.

A Citrus County jury found Smith guilty in July of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, both third-degree felonies, stemming from an encounter with two Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative lineworkers in December 2025.

The lineworkers, responding to an outage just before midnight, were inspecting a power line when Smith yelled they were trespassing and fired multiple shots into the ground, according to the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida. The workers took cover behind a nearby camper and called 911.

"Our lineworkers already have one of the toughest jobs there is without facing threats of violence,” said David Lambert, executive vice president and general manager of the Dade City-based co-op. “We will do everything we can to encourage prosecution of those responsible and ensure our employees have the protection and support they deserve."

At SECO Energy in Sumterville, Florida, “The phone call threats of people saying, ‘If you don’t do what I’m asking for, I’ll come and beat up somebody’ are growing,” said Eddie Velez, the co-op’s director of corporate security.

SECO Energy is one of a few co-ops with a security department that tracks threats, implements protocols in the aftermath of an incident and, if necessary, follows up with penalties, legal action or both. The co-op’s general counsel office manages the unit.

Velez, an ex-special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Rick Woods, the co-op’s revenue protection manager, developed a protocol for employees to identify, document and respond to perceived threats made over the phone or on a member’s property.

Fortunately, Velez said, most threats aren’t serious and most members back down when contacted. “When we have a conversation with them and explain, ‘Hey, do you realize you said that on a recorded line?’ they’re like, “I didn’t mean it that way. I was upset at the moment.’ ”

At least two states, Florida and Georgia, have passed laws making it a felony to endanger or assault lineworkers, and similar legislation has been considered elsewhere.

Such protections are critical for SECO employees working in the field, said SECO Energy CEO Curtis Wynn.

“The safety of our employees is the top priority for SECO’s management, the board and our fellow utility workers,” Wynn said. “We welcome stronger enforcement of laws that protect SECO’s employees and utility workers from fatal and injurious threats when they do their jobs to provide reliable service to our members.”