Drunken man steals bulldozer
Published 1:13 am Sunday, May 3, 2009
A man believed to be driving drunk and suspected of stealing a bulldozer was found riding down Memorial Boulevard Thursday evening.
According to a police report, the man, Jack Etheredge, 41, of 53 Mississippi Highway 43 South, was found driving the bulldozer down Memorial Boulevard that evening at about 7:48.
Officers reported to that area following a call to the police department a stolen bulldozer traveling down on Memorial Boulevard. When the officer arrived to the scene, he saw the yellow bulldozer traveling east. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the bulldozer near the Shell station. Etheredge was noted as having an intoxicating smell on his breath and his eyes appeared blood shot and had dilated pupils, the report states.
On the floor of the bulldozer at Etheredge’s feet was a 12 pack box of Busch beer with only five unopened beers inside the box and one open beer on top of the box, the report states.
Etheredge was asked to get down from the bulldozer and walk to the patrol car where he told the officer that he worked for the company that owned the bulldozer. Etheredge informed the officer that he had his boss’s permission to take the bulldozer home. However, when the officer asked Etheredge for his boss’s last name he could not give it. Etheredge also gave the wrong name of the company that owned the bulldozer.
The owner of the equipment was contacted and it was established that Etheredge was not authorized to operate the equipment nor was he an employee of the company. A DUI officer was called and a field sobriety test was administered to Etheredge away from traffic. The test led the DUI officer to believe that Etheredge was intoxicated, and he was charged with grand larceny for the theft of the bulldozer valued at $150,000, DUI and possession of open beer, the report states.