Darrington man swiped bulldozer for joyride, prosecutors say

Published 8:32 am Saturday, May 23, 2009

DARRINGTON — A Darrington man may have stolen a bulldozer so he wouldn’t have to walk home in the cold.

The man, 21, reportedly told Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies he figured he’d get home quicker on the bulldozer, even at 7 or 8 mph, compared with walking on his own two feet, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged the man this week with taking a motor vehicle without permission in the second degree, a felony.

The man is accused of climbing onto a bulldozer parked at the Hampton Lumber Mill and ramming the big rig through the mill’s steel gates, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko wrote in court papers.

The theft happened just after 1 a.m. two days before Thanksgiving 2008.

A man who lives across from the mill told deputies he jumped into his truck after witnessing the dozer crash through the gates. In pursuit of the dozer, the man said he pulled up next to the rig to get a look at the driver. The man said the driver swerved toward his truck. He said he would have been killed if he hadn’t swerved out of the path of the dozer. He drove to the police station.

A deputy found the bulldozer in a ditch along Highway 530, not far from the mill.

A woman pulled up and told the deputy her daughter knew who took the dozer. While she drove off to fetch her daughter, the suspected thief’s girlfriend drove by the scene. She was stopped and allegedly told the deputy her boyfriend was behind the heist.

The first woman returned with her daughter, who explained that she’d been with the defendant, his girlfriend and another man. They’d been dropped off close to the mill and began walking toward town.

She told deputies the alleged perpetrator, who was drunk, told the group he was going to steal them a ride home. He and his girlfriend ran ahead and a short while later she saw the dozer mow through the mill gate and head toward town.

Deputies found the suspected joyrider at home. His mom showed deputies to the man’s bedroom, where he was dozing. He smelled like booze, his eyes were bloodshot and he slurred his words, deputies said.

He allegedly told deputies he was looking for a quicker way to get home than walking, according to court papers.

When asked what he did with the dozer, the man allegedly said, “I ditched it right in front of the mill there. I didn’t want to drive it into town being all wasted and run over people’s cars or anybody,” Okoloko wrote.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.