By Mark Bowes
The Richmond Times-Dispatch
CHESTERFIELD, Va. — A former Chesterfield County volunteer firefighter has been charged with stealing a fire truck in July and taking it on a 10-mile joy ride before crashing it into a ditch.
Kevin W.T. Burns, 27, of the 12500 Sandbag Road, was charged with grand larceny in the July 20 theft of a specialized fire truck from a fenced county maintenance lot in the 9700 block of Lori Lane.
Police said the thief drove the truck through a fence, over a curb and onto the road, then drove it about 10 miles, apparently along rural, two-lane roads, before losing control and crashing it along the side of Woodpecker Road near Bundle Road.
A police officer discovered the truck about 5:50 a.m., about 20 minutes after it had been taken. Chesterfield police declined to provide a possible motive for the theft.
At the time, fire officials said the truck required “a little bit of special knowledge” on how to start the vehicle, because it is not key-operated. The truck sustained significant damage.
The truck, which was normally kept at the Chesterfield County Airport, had been moved for maintenance work before the theft to a shop near the county government center.
Chesterfield fire Lt. Jason Elmore said Burns joined the department as a volunteer at Fire Station 10 in December 2011 but was not active when the theft occurred. Elmore said Burns had been suspended prior to the incident for an unrelated personnel matter. He was then terminated in August as a result of that personnel issue.
Chesterfield police Sgt. Chris O’Donnell said the stolen fire truck sustained “tens of thousands” of dollars in damage.
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(c)2014 the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services