LINCOLN, NE- A Nebraska man went on an unhinged rampage last Sunday where he used a skid loader stolen from his boss to smash into storefronts, ATMs, parked vehicles, and an occupied police cruiser in a Home Depot parking lot.
Samuel Peyrot, 36, was arrested on multiple charges in connection with the incident, according to KKTV.
Lincoln police received a call at approximately 2:30 pm on January 14 from a U-Stop convenience store reporting a man in a skid loader was “vandalizing vehicles with the machine.” Additional 911 calls were received reporting the skid loader was now in a Home Depot parking lot, wreaking havoc on parked vehicles.
On arrival at the Home Depot, officers found Peyrot driving the skid loader recklessly about the lot.
“When the first officer arrived on the scene, the man turned the skid loader toward the cruiser and rammed into it while the officer was inside, damaging the cruiser,” Lincoln police wrote in a press release.
The officer exited his patrol vehicle, firearm drawn, and ordered Peyrot out of the machine, to which he complied and then was arrested.
“The officer got out of his vehicle and drew his service weapon. He did not fire the weapon, and no one was injured as the suspect complied with commands to get out of the skid loader and was taken into custody at gunpoint.”
Social media video of the incident showed a wild scene in the home improvement store’s parking lot, where Peyrot can see accelerating with the bucket raised, speeding past a police cruiser, and bumping into it. Peyrot then spun the skid loader around and drove it directly at the police SUV at windshield level, also striking a black vehicle in the process.
Police announced several vehicles were damaged in the rampage, while a driver inside a damaged truck sustained minor injuries.
Police said Peyrot also drove the skid loader into several local businesses, damaging them.
Police said the skid loader belonged to Peyrot’s employer and that he had taken the machine to the U-Stop using a company-owned truck.
USA TODAY spoke to Jeff McRichards, a man who captured footage of the incident. He told the outlet he was leaving the Home Depot near his home when he saw the incident unfold.
“I was buying some parts to fix my washing machine,” McRichards said. “It was crazy, some guy stole a Bobcat…went on a rampage. [He] destroyed the front doors of a liquor store, destroyed cars in a Taco Bell parking lot, and an ATM before going after the cop car.”
“I have no idea whose it was or how he got into it,” McRichards said, unaware that the skid loader was stolen from his boss.
Peyrot was charged with second-degree assault on an officer, second-degree assault, and criminal mischief in connection with the incident, police said.
Records show that Peyrot was booked into the Lancaster County Jail, and he apparently took the occasion of his 37th birthday to go on his unhinged damage spree.
It was unclear whether Peyrot is still being held or has been released on bond.
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