Police: Man charged after stealing bulldozer, flipping car, causing damage on VSU campus

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - A man is now facing several charges after stealing a bulldozer on the campus of Virginia State University.

The incident happened just before 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 27, when a man stole a bulldozer from a construction area beside the VSU Multi-Purpose Center.

Police say the man, now identified as Devin Thorne, got into a bulldozer and began hitting an unoccupied VSU police car parked in front of the VSU Multi-Purpose Center. He then backed into the building, causing significant damage to the building structure, an entrance, several parking signs, and three light poles.

After causing damage to the Multi-purpose center, the man made it across Chesterfield Avenue to cause more damage at Ettrick Elementary School and a nearby church.

The man then made his way back to the VSU Multi-Purpose Center and proceeded to push the unoccupied VSU police car, that he had struck previously, across Second Street and into another parking area, where he damaged two more light poles and several small trees before flipping the campus police car onto its side.

The 27-year-old then drove the bulldozer to Boisseau Street, where he was ultimately taken into custody.

Thorne now faces several charges, including felony eluding, two counts of felony vandalism, trespassing, obstruction of justice, and grand larceny.

VSU releases a statement:

“We are still assessing the physical damage to our campus. However, we are grateful that no one from our Trojan community or the local community was injured in this incident,” said David Bragg, VSU AVP of Public Safety/Chief of Police. “We are also thankful to the Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, and Virginia State Police Departments for the collaborative effort to arrest the suspect.”

Thorne is currently being held without bond at the Chesterfield County Jail.

This incident remains under investigation.

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