A California man was arrested earlier this week after stealing an excavator and attempting to hit police officers with the construction vehicle’s bucket.
According to the Madera Police Department in Madera, California, the incident occurred on Wednesday when officers received reports of theft in the area of Tozer St. and Ave. 14.
The man was identified by the Madera Police Department as Hugo Barrera.
Barrera, police said, stole the excavator from a construction job site and he was seen driving the construction vehicle westbound on Ave. 14 when officers arrived.
Madera Police Sergeant Nick Webster told Newsweek that the construction job site is located near Tozer St. and Olive Ave.
According to police, after officers arrived to the scene, Barrera refused to stop driving the excavator. He then “attempted to hit the officers with the excavator bucket when they approached,” police said in a Facebook post.
Videos of the incident, which were shared by local media outlets, show several officers approaching the excavator and attempting to surround it. As the officers moved closer, the video shows one officer attempting to remove Barrera from the vehicle but he attempts to swing the bucket at them.
As the video continues, the officers can be seen situated near the door of the excavator when Barrera again tries to hit them with the bucket, this time forcing several officers to duck down and move away from the excavator.
According to police, after attempting to hit the officers with the bucket, officers were eventually “able to get the cab door open and Barrera surrendered soon after.”
Barrera was arrested shortly after surrendering and booked into the Madera County Jail.
The Madera Police Department stated that Barrera was booked into jail on multiple felony charges and records from the Madera County Department of Corrections show that the charges include taking a vehicle without the owners consent, assault with a deadly weapon/great bodily injury on a peace officer (not a firearm) and interfering with a police officer. Barrera also had his probation revoked following the incident, according to the Madera County Department of Corrections.
The jail records identified Barrera as a 33-year-old resident of Madera, California.
Madera County Department of Corrections/Madera County Department of Corrections
Webster told Newsweek that the excavator was recovered shortly after the incident by employees of the construction job site.
A similar situation happened in January 2021 when the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested a 40-year-old Florida man for stealing an excavator and driving it through the Baptist Medical Center’s maternity entrance, shattering glass doors. The man was arrested on January 7 and charged with theft from a construction site and felony criminal mischief, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
