GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A man was arrested after stealing a large excavator Monday before driving it through the wall of a Walmart, the Gainesville Police Department reports.
In a Facebook post, the agency explains officers were on scene of the Walmart off 42nd Street in Gainesville on reports of a man stealing the machinery and driving it around.
According to WCJB, an arrest report identified the man as 47-year-old Jesse Smith of Trenton.
Before crashing the excavator into the wall of the shopping center, Smith reportedly took out multiple power poles.
After initially arresting him, police also found another building, a storage unit, that he drove through. Smith reportedly used the boom arm to damage the roof of the building, as well.
But he didn't stop there – according to the TV station, Smith got out of the excavator eventually and went inside the Walmart with a machete which he dropped before law enforcement got there.
No one was hurt during the whole incident.
The excavator that Smith hotwired and took was valued at $350,000, WCJB explains. And the estimated property damage is reportedly around $2 million.
The Alachua County Sheriff's Office website shows Smith is facing charges of grand theft, property damage, resisting an officer without violence and trespassing.
