State Police chase M577 in downtown Richmond
A soldier at Fort Pickett, Virginia took an eleven-and-a-half-ton M577 armored command vehicle for a joyride through downtown Richmond, Virginia last night according to WUSA9.
Police were notified around 7:55 p.m. the vehicle was taken from the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center and followed it on I-85 to I-95.
Video footage posted to Facebook shows the vehicle traveling north near the Dinwiddie area. Virginia State Police said the vehicle traveled at a maximum speed of about 40 miles per hour.
There is no information regarding how the driver gained access to the vehicle and there have been no crashes or injuries involved with the chase.
The driver stopped around 9:40 p.m. at East Broad Street and 11th Street, surrendering to police, according to NBC 12 in Richmond.
From the Burn Pit.
Thanks to Bobo for the link.
From Stars & Stripes;
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported the driver was Joshua Phillip Yabut, a 29-year-old who identifies himself as a lieutenant in the Virginia Army National Guard in social media posts. State police arrested Yabut on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and charged him with eluding police and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Category: Army News
Difficult to imagine what goes through the minds of those pursuing such a vehicle. Mostly not wanting to get in it’s way. Most of the potential scenarios end particularly well.
Uhh, throw a “don’t” in there somewhere.
I am impressed that it made that far without breaking down AND cleared 40 MPH. Of course the media had to call it a “tank” but at least they did not call it an “assault tank”.
It had a duel pistol grip steering yolk.
Strangely the article went to lengths to explain how not dangerous it was.
And had a ‘Silencer’ attatched to the exhaust
But no requisite chainsaw bayonet, so not an assault tank.
And it has a thingy on top that goes back (the davit)
My first thought was “damn, these goys have some top-notch mechanics!”. Second thought was “we still have 577’s?”
Goys? Ooops. I’d like to replace a vowel… GUYS!
Well, if they weren’t Jewish, goy is correct…😂
Yeah, but I was really trying to be more a more inclusive, enlightened human being.
For a minute, I thought it was a M113 …
Except for the top 2 or 3 ft, it is an M113.
A lieutenant? Ohh the quality o’ ossifers da nat.guard . be gettin now eh?
Comedy…. is not safe.
Rumor has it that the driver was a 1LT from the VAARNG. No information on how a 1LT managed to navigate that far without getting lost.
Who said he wasn’t lost?
Trying to find I95 but took a wrong turn.
Its about 60 miles from Pickett to Richmond. With traffic it is well over an hour.
With police escort and not stopping for lights? I am sure he made it in record time.
It is nothing short of a miracle to get an M577 to actually run for 60 miles…I’m impressed.
Well, if that’s correct he WAS a 1LT vice a 2LT. And he may have been from Richmond and familiar with the route between the two.
Wonder if he went out the main gate when he left the compound and continued right down that road to US460? If so, I’d guess the gate guards on duty might well have “soiled their skivvies” when he departed. (smile)
Addendum: more likely, he used his smartphone and navigated using Google Maps. (smile)
at least it wasn’t apple maps….
My boss grew up in Richmond and pretty much was laughing his ass off about this. He looked at me said, this is what happens when my people take on snort of coke too many.
I, like SFC D was amazed that the Army still uses 577’s. I have to admit to not having driven one of those things…
From what I have read the Army still uses several thousand (6,000?) M113 variants. It may not be as high-tech or new as the many other very expensive Army vehicles, but is more versatile. It will probably still be in service after the HMMWV is retired. Sort of like the B-52.
you just absolutely cannot make this shit up. wow.
I knew a pilot who got fired for flying his Chinook about 80 miles off his flight path and landing it at his parents farm. Other than getting relieved and transferred to another unit nothing much happened to him.
This one might be just a tad too public.
Reminds me of the crap our “wire dogs” in the commo platoon used to get in to. Great bunch of dudes, but when the weekend came around most were just a Article 15 waiting to happen.
lol…sometimes ya know it’s not a matter of if… but when.
We had a Navy EOD Det hanging out at 2d Recon years ago. I was the OOD when a report came out that a toilet had exploded in the beach pavilion across the road.
Of course the EOD Det said it was just a strange coincidence and they had nothing to do with it.
People with certain skills should never be allowed to get too bored. 🙂
That wasn’t in the fall of 1993 was it?
lol…yes, that’s about right.
hmmm….that wasn’t odd at all
My last platoon was 45 cable dogs. Nothing scares me anymore.
45 Cable Dogs in one place…that is a japanese rock with lips garden…LOL
My first “command” was the wire platoon in 82nd Signal Bn. Trial by fire that was!
They took some wrangling but they turned out to be somewhere around awesome. 15 months in Iraq doing fiber-optic installation on and around Speicher took out a lot of the wildness. We had more earth moving equipment than the Engineers did. Great bunch of kids.
“but when the weekend came around most were just a Article 15 waiting to happen.”
Excellent! Certainly that puts you in contention for comment of the week.
Ah … the foibles of Youth.
Looking back, I can’t believe how many times it was the ol’, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
All in all, it seems slightly miraculous that any survive to their thirtieth birthday.
At least he didn’t steal a tank and joyride on the 163 like that clown did in San Diego back in the day.
And dude is lucky he didn’t get shot.
I remember that NHSparky. Tank got stuck on top of the median, couldn’t move so the LEO went on top and popped some rounds into a slot and it was all over.
40 mph is quite fast on tracks. Must have been street pads. Even semi grousers would have torn up the pavement big time.
I’m guessing he ain’t anticipating the size of the bill from that one.
And police OT is EXPENSIVE.
We don’t run anything but the rubber pads anymore.
Why would you steal an empty beer can?
Dude (or Dude-ette, your handle is gender-neutral)… that requires a spew alert. Luckily, coffee intake chamber was clear and keyboard was spared.
Don’t recall hearing about too many M48 Patton Dumb Ass Tankers that were female 50 years ago.
So not really gender neutral lol
I guess he really, really wanted to set up his own battalion TOC.
THAT is one VERY SHIT-FOR-BRAINED way to go AWOL. What was he thinking about, a free meal at Hooters along with pics with the waitresses? Tracks are very fuel-thirsty Tactical Vehicles as well, I hope they give him a Statement of Charges for the fuel he used during his joyride as well as any maintenance that now has to be done on that APC!
I’m thinking he’s gonna be looking at signing something besides a Statement of Charges, API. For starters, I’d guess a charge sheet for violating either Article 121, UCMJ, or the corresponding article of Virginia’s SCMJ.
I’d also guess that the costs of repair/fuel/etc . . . will be covered by a FLIPL (formerly Report of Survey) and will be billed to the guy involuntarily after he’s found liable – and that the debt for same will likely follow him after he’s discharged (e.g., get turned over to the IRS or Virginia’s equivalent for collection).
I’m quite sure of that as well and I still hope they tack some SoC’s on his ass to the point where they completely deplete his last few paychecks and then some!
Naw, he was just gonna go down to the 7-11 for a 12-pack…
Hold my beer and watch this.
Looks like he didn’t start out on the right track.
rim shot!
Maybe it was just a drunk Infantryman (I know, redundant) picking up his very large, future ex-depedapotamus.
Joes gonna Joe.
Yeah, I can see that, he was in love and knew it was love at first sight when he put his first dollar bill in her garter at Billy-Bob’s Strip Tease, Mud-Wrasslin’ Club and Tattoo Parlor!
That’s the place that sells used cars with no money down, all you need is an LES?
They have a great lunch buffet there on the 1st and 15th.
The, um, crabs are plentiful.
WAR STORY ALERT: Young airmen. First time to the club. Introduced to Tom Collins. Long walk back to the Quonset huts, up hill. Nice shinny school busses with keys in them next to the club. I can drive that sucker. No you can’t. Jump on. Had a joy ride then put it back and walked up the hill. Next morning at guard mount the flight sergeant said something about unusual tire tracks on the grass around the flag pole and for patrols to keep their eyes open for a large vehicle. The legal term for this track driver is, “But for the Grace of God, there went I”. Have not had a Tom Collins since.
Tom Collins and his cousin Whiskey Sour have almost got this guy on the blotter a’many a’time.
Sugar, booze and heat is a bad combo.
One time they had filled an entire water buffalo and when they looked down inside it had insect wings and other parts. So they picked two of us to drive it around town after they unscrewed the drain. The theory being they did not want a huge lake of water in one place so distribute it off base. People kept honking at us thinking we were spilling fuel. We were going to pull into the local strip club to pass the time and let it drain but I can see a photo of that lake of water making it into the next day’s newspaper. Fun times.
Headline reads:
“Soldiers create wet spot at strip club”
“it had insect wings and other parts”
So? That’s what the spaces between your teeth are for.
dadgum rear area types throwing away perfectly good water …mumble..growl….snort….
My guess that it was Yef going out on a resupply mission for more buffer pads, a new floor buffer and extra wax.
YMMV
Goddammit Yef! You know the CO has to sign an off-post dispatch!
And that’s ONLY AFTER a proper PMCS has been performed on the Vehicle! Trust me, one of my past Duties was Unit Motor Sergeant.
Way to blow off some steam!
At least he was not beating his wife or shooting someone.
He’ll also be reprimanded for not having a ground guide.
Did he even bother to pick up the chock block and drip pan before going on that joy ride? If not, there’s yet another Statement of Charges!
Some information about the Soldier to include his picture. He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/year-old-national-guardsman-from-richmond-charged-in-theft-of/article_41678b7f-5e57-521f-bb90-26ebc3f6f9e5.html
And apparently he was indeed an LT. On drugs. Not good. Looks like his military career is over.
Sounds like a very odd duck.
Odd? That’s being kind. I did get a kick out of his name: Yabut. I would like to know how this fruitcake managed to become an officer in anyone’s army, let alone the US Army.
Name:
Yabut Dabut Doh!
Sheesh … I’d better get my computer checked out tomorrow!
That particular stupid will hurt!
He’s using gang signs in that picture. Another Lt Rapone case but this time an officer gangbanger.
He looks stoned in that picture
As soon as I heard a Lieutenant was driving I began to assume that maybe he might have been practicing Vehicular Land Navigation and got hellishly lost!
“Don’t worry, I have a map, a compass and a College Degree, what can go wrong?”
After maintenance motor pool test drive.
Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/06/virginia-police-chase-stolen-armored-personnel-carrier-for-more-than-60-miles-soldier-arrested.html
From the link:
That’s quite a command vehicle.
When I saw that thing, my first thought was
“Where’s the big circular brush for street sweeping?”
And where’s the gun on that thing, anyway?
It doesn’t have a weapons mount of any kind. It is used for C3, FDC or medevac depending on the variant.
When I was a kid, some dude jacked an M60 tank from the NG armory in Kearny Mesa, then headed southbound on the 163 freeway with about 2/3 of all of San Diego County’s law enforcement chasing him at 25-30 mph. Luckily the tank had been stored with no ammo loaded—he probably wouldn’t have been very efficient with the main gun all by himself, but the coax and .50cal could’ve done some damage—but with 50 tons of rolling steel against some Crown Vics, he didn’t need any. This was pretty obvious since the asshole was flattening everything he possibly could. That little escapade ended with the tank getting hung up on the freeway median barriers and the tankjacker catching multiple bullets in the face. At one point, SDPD was on the phone with Camp Pendleton asking the Marines for a Cobra to hit the tank with a TOW before he got stuck.
For your viewing pleasure. I had a screwed up float 48A3 in Vietnam that was only good for knocking over trees. More efficient than an APC, though.
I also was an 1811 in RVN. Served me well and did a hell of a lot of damage to the gooks. Ballistics computer covered for superelevation very well. The driver of the tank shown in the video made the mistake of leaving the T C (or possibly loader’s hatch) open. Main gun pointing to rear allowed him access to the driver’s area. For the day, the M48A3 was a bad ass weapon. Cannister rounds, flechette rounds, H E, W P, & A T were all on the menu. Hit one land mine while first on a flame tank. Did not scare me much until later after seeing what a 52 ton beast looked like when it was upside down. That would have been one hell of a way to go in a flame tank..pure crispy critter. After all these years, I still miss the adrenaline rush.
There is a joke about spike strips in there somewhere.
The only way to stop a bad guy with an armored personnel carrier is a good guy with a TOW missile.
Damn, Hack. You, too, are now nominated for comment of the week. And both nominees came from this thread!
Actually, as I read through the comments here, I’m not at all sure there can be a winner. There’s a shitload of nominees. We just might have to create a new category: Thread of the week. There’s some funny stuff in here.
That’s a long drive with no visibility to your right, because of the generator box
As a former M577 driver & TC I was thinking the same thing. Left turns only! 😀
If my memory serves me halfway decent, I believe that on the right fender of the M48A3 was called the sponson box. If those days of RVN are of interest to you, check out USMCVTA.
The M577 type mentioned has a large metal cage to the right of the drivers head, which limits his visibility to the right. The cage is used to hold a 4.2 kw generator. The TC has to keep a sharp eye to that side. The generator can be manhandled to the ground or swung off with a David and pulley system. Most people left them in the cage,which made for a lot of fun when filling up a hot generator under a cammo net.
Captain Stillman is assembly the platoon as we speak to retrieve the ME-50 Urban Assault Vehicle.
Yes, but Sgt Hulka is already on it.
Stripes; What a flick
I got nothing.
Steve McQueen wan’a be.
That’s a Marine Corps legend. When the clown stole the M-60 down in San Diego, the Union Tribune tracked down that rumor, and some time during the mid-1960’s, a young Marine Amtracker did still an LVTP-5, and got as far as Del Mar (the town, not the camp). The paper interviewed the Marine in question, and he said he was busted down a rank and shipped off to Viet Of The Nam. Can’t recall his name.
I’ll just leave this here.
‘Man who stole armored military vehicle for drive through Richmond was a company commander’
https://pilotonline.com/news/nation-world/virginia/article_65dc0c34-69a2-11e8-851e-af1b2dc58904.html
‘The Virginia National Guard says the 29-year-old accused of stealing an armored personnel carrier and driving it under the influence of drugs for more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) is a first lieutenant and company commander.
The Virginia National Guard said in a news release Wednesday that Joshua Philip Yabut of Richmond is assigned as the commander of the Petersburg-based Headquarters Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, and has more than 11 years of service. The release says he deployed to Afghanistan from 2008 to 2009 with the Illinois National Guard.
Virginia State Police say the vehicle, which is National Guard property, was driven away from Fort Pickett in Nottoway County on Tuesday evening. State police pursued it and say they arrested Yabut in Richmond.
Yabut is being held at the Richmond jail. It could not immediately be determined if he has an attorney.’
So he’s most likely a mustang then? Way to throw away a good career, pal.
How long before this gets blamed on the PTSD?
I guess Joshua wasn’t Joshing when he went on that joy ride.
Not to nitpick, but odds are better that it is an M1068, not an M577.
The M1068s are used for C3 these days.
The few M577s left are used for FDC or Medevac.
As this was an Engineer company, and there is no big red cross on the side…..just saying.
Same exact vehicle btw. Just different equipment.
Hey, he was just getting ready to pick up his buddy at Bragg. You need something like this for cruising Fayettenam at night, ya know….
Had a similar event occur in Germany during the winter of 1969-70. A drunk/drugged mechanic drove an M578 tracked recovery vehicle out the back gate at Lee barracks in Mainz-Gonsenheim. Unfortunately,I was on duty that night. He ran over multiple cars on the streets until he crashed into a tree in the parking lot of one of the local drinking establishments. When I arrived, the vehicle was smoking and there were acetylene and oxygen bottles strapped to the turret. My driver and I had remove them, while the local Polizei and fire crew held back the looky loos. At least this moron didn’t do any serious damage to property or persons. I think he did set a new mileage record for pirated tracked vehicles at 60 miles.
KUDOS to the Maintenance Section of that outfit!
This is his Twitter feed – apparently he was tweeting during his escapade. Just perusing his feed, he does seem a bit off-kilter.
https://twitter.com/movrcx
That explains everything he was just looking for the water buffalo.
Throwing up the “west side” hand sign. Don’t know if it still is a gang sign, but I assume it still is. With this and the commie West Pointer, what has the commissioned corps turned in to?
One of those pics, looks like from inside the command veh, shows the tail end of a holstered M9. Time of posting would seem to line up with yesterday’s festivities. Wonder if he was trying to go out in an epic suicide by cop and lost his nerve.
I see a map of the Richmond Capital Building there on his recent Twitter feed when he is talking about his “convoy prep” “mission” and MOUT site.
Pickett has a MOUT site. It isn’t at the capital. He also talks about getting instructions from his “local clergyman”.
I was thinking another Islamic nutter but Islam has no clergy so I am little confused. Probably less so than he was.
It isn’t too much of a stretch to say he may have had a poorly planned attack on the Capital in mind. Everything went to shit as soon as he rolled out the gate.
I’d be surprised if he was intending to attack anything; he didn’t even have ammo for his pistol. But given that he doesn’t seem quite right in the head, who knows?
Glad to see I wasn’t the only one wondering about his throwing out what looks like a gang sign. Been a long time since I was among the cool kids, but you used to have to be very careful about such things.
Yup another LT Rapone appears. A benrie bro gang banger company commander. Way to go National Guard.
When I was in Korea I always heard a story about a guy stealing an M88 and trying to leave Casey to knock down the ville. Anyone remember that?
Mushrooms? Ecstasy? Whatever it was, I don’t want any.
I wonder if he did his preventative maintenance checks prior to operating the vehicle?
He is really going to be in trouble for leaving the motor pool without a proper vehicle dispatch sheet in his log book. The battalion motor officer is going to be on his case, big time.
I’m sure some Motor Sergeant is going to want to take a bite out of his ass as well!
While living in Long Beach, one Saturday I kept hearing the wump wump of a Huey so I ran out of the house and there it was flying low and circling a house like 5 doors down from me. Turns out the Arngus pilot out of Long Island NY was buzzing his estranged wifes house. They got him when he landed.
You know this guy is in trouble now….what do you want to bet he didn’t have his dispatch properly filled out and signed?
I bet he didn’t even do a proper PMCS on that Vehicle as well!
I’m on AT and pulling Staff Duty tonight. I pray that the phone doesn’t ring with an incident like this one.😕
I know everyone is going to be shocked but as it turns out he was on drugs.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/05/us/stolen-armored-personnel-carrier-virginia-trnd/index.html
thats 3 state awards he will get from the Guard… A DUI medel, an Arrested while in drill status medal and the big one, the golden order of lost LT’s medal!
I am betting he will get an outstanding Fitness report and be promoted to state Adjutant with in 8 years!
But the big question is will he (1LT Yahbut) be promoted to CPT Yes-but and remain company commander of HHC. Perhaps if he claims to be gay or transgender, the VA ANG will give him a pass on his crank-stepping. Bet he doesn’t even have a military driver’s license for an M577.