A man in a stolen excavator led police, SWAT and drone teams in North Charleston, South Carolina, on a slow-speed chase down U.S. 78 for more than an hour, after doing thousands of dollars of damage to a local business.
According to an Instagram post from the North Charleston Police Department, around 3:30 a.m. on June 8, officers on an unrelated call noticed a Komatsu excavator suspiciously tracking across U.S. 78, headed toward a Hispanic grocery market. Moments later, a burglary alarm was received from the business. Officers arrived to find the store significantly damaged, and the excavator headed away from the scene – indicating this may have been more than a joyride.
Officers attempted to make a traffic stop, but the operator kept tracking along at speeds of 3 mph. The pursuit continued for an hour and 12 minutes as officers made repeated calls over the loudspeaker for the operator to stop. Deputies blocked traffic at intersections to contain the path of travel.
A video of the chase, recorded on the officer’s dash cam, is posted at the end of this story.
The suspect, identified as 53-year-old Johnny Mesa, eventually stopped the excavator in a wooded area at the Ladson Fairgrounds. He ran but was captured and arrested with the assistance of the Charleston County K-9 unit.
According to the report, the business suffered over $10,000 in damage. Mesa was charged with failure to stop for a blue light, malicious injury to real property and malicious injury to real property enhancement, with bond set at $22,000, according to Charleston County Jail Records.
“Moral of the story: You can’t get away from NCPD, especially if you’re operating an excavator,” the Instagram post said.
To watch the chase, check out the North Charleston Police Department dashcam video below, which was released on Facebook and Instagram:
