Posted on 08/27/2005 1:39:50 AM PDT by csvset
Trail of destruction follows theft of heavy equipment Last updated: 12:59 AM
By MATTHEW ROY, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 27, 2005
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| A small guard shack at Colonna’s Shipyard in Norfolk was knocked down early Friday with a piece of heavy equipment. A Maryland man has been charged in the incident. Mort fryman/the virginian-pilot
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NORFOLK — A Maryland man was jailed on charges he stole heavy equipment from a shipyard early Friday and then left a trail of damage until residents nabbed him, police said.
A heavy John Deere track loader and a lighter Bobcat skid loader were stolen from Colonna’s Shipyard on Norfolk’s south side, leaving a trail of damaged railroad equipment, broken fences, a demolished guard shack and crumpled automobiles.
William G. Ioven, 36, of Fort Meade, Md., was charged after neighbors chased down a man in the vicinity of East Indian River Road after several parked cars were damaged about 1 a.m., police said. The Coast Guard said Ioven is a lieutenant junior grade stationed in Washington, D.C.
Ioven has no known association with the shipyard, said Thomas Godfrey Jr., Colonna’s president and chief executive officer. “Nobody here has ever heard of the guy,” he said.
The man apparently entered the shipyard from the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, where there is no security fence, Godfrey said.
The man commandeered a John Deere heavy excavator and headed for the railroad tracks, Godfrey said. A worker in the yard saw the man and called police. The excavator became stuck in a ditch and the man went back to the yard and got on the smaller Bobcat.
At some point, he took out a small guard shack, which was empty, Godfrey said. He left the yard and entered the neighborhood on the Bobcat.
Along the 200 block of E. Indian River Road, the Bobcat struck several automobiles parked on the street.
“It was so loud I thought the city was out here working,” said Joy Brinson, whose car was damaged.
She said neighbors chased the man to a nearby location and held him for authorities.
Godfrey estimated the damage to his yard and equipment to be roughly $50,000 . Damage to Norfolk Southern railroad equipment is expected to top several thousand dollars.
“It’s still a shock to me,” Godfrey said. “I’ve seen fires, explosions and tornados, natural disasters and otherwise. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Staff writer Allison Connolly contributed to this report.
Reach Matthew Roy at (757) 446-2540 or matthew.roy@pilotonline.com.
I suspect he won't be a JG or in the the Coast Guard for long.
Here's a link to a Video from WVEC TV
Just a drunk looking for his car.
A 36-year old LtJG with a Fort Meade address?
I wonder if adult beverages were involved?
The Virginia Pilot is almost fanatical about putting military affilation in all of it's crime stories.
You never hear about Ralph the carpenter who works for * or Fred the mechanic who works at *.
36 seems a bit long in tooth for the rank?
Like the Navy, I suspect the CG crosses senior enlisted over to jr. officers....
I have to wonder what the guy was doing in that neighborhood. Colonna’s is off the beaten path, it's not a place you're likely to head to after a night of partying. I suspect he may have walked across the railroad bridge from downtown Norfolk.
WVEC aired a video the other night, one of the local residents was wearing a shirt that read " Booty Patrol ". They edited that out of the clip.
As far as the the Pilot, you're right, they love smearing the military.
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