RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Latest on an Army officer who is accused of stealing an armored personnel carrier from a National Guard base (all times local):
9:15 p.m.
The Army National Guard officer accused of stealing an armored vehicle says it was part of a training exercise and that he had the authority to take it.
Joshua Philip Yabut told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his brigade commander told him to take the armored personnel carrier and drive it on a pre-planned route to gauge police response. He spoke to the AP by telephone from Virginia’s Central State Hospital.
Yabut was taken into custody Tuesday night, about two hours after police say he drove away from Fort Pickett in the carrier. The Virginia National Guard says he was charged with eluding police and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Yabut says some of the charges against him “are just bogus.” He also says he was not under the influence of drugs as authorities have said.
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4:20 p.m.
An Army National Guard officer has been arraigned in Virginia on charges of stealing an armored vehicle and driving it more than 60 miles (96 kilometers) while under the influence of drugs.
Joshua Philip Yabut appeared in Richmond General District Court by video link from the city jail Wednesday. No bond was set. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 11.
Yabut was taken into custody Tuesday night, about two hours after police say he drove away from Fort Pickett in the armored personnel carrier. No one was injured during the incident.
Yabut’s attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Efforts to reach family members who could comment on his behalf were unsuccessful.
The Virginia National Guard said in a news release that Yabut is assigned as the commander of the Petersburg-based Headquarters Company, 276th Engineer Battalion. He has more than 11 years of service, and was deployed to Afghanistan from 2008 to 2009 with the Illinois National Guard.
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3 p.m.
A cryptocurrency company says the Virginia National Guard officer accused of driving off a base in an armored vehicle while under the influence of drugs is a former developer who publicized a vulnerability in the company’s system.
The company, ZenCash, said in a statement Wednesday that Joshua Yabut was a former developer for the project who left in June 2017.
The statement says that before he left, Yabut “intentionally made public” a ZenCash vulnerability that he had coded in.
Yabut was taken into custody Tuesday night, about two hours after police say he drove away from Fort Pickett in the armored personnel carrier. No one was injured during the incident.
Yabut remained in custody Wednesday, and efforts to reach his defense attorney or family members who could comment on his behalf were unsuccessful.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch first reported Yabut’s connection to ZenCash. He also previously worked for NASA.
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12:30 p.m.
The soldier accused of driving off a Virginia National Guard base in an armored personnel carrier while under the influence of drugs seemed to foreshadow what he planned to do on Twitter.
Joshua Philip Yabut tweeted a Wikipedia entry Tuesday about the M113 armored personnel carrier, which is similar to the M577 vehicle driven away during a routine training exercise at Fort Pickett.
He also posted a screenshot of a map around the area where the vehicle stopped hours later, after a long pursuit by police. Minutes after police said they began their pursuit, Yabut posted a photo and video of himself in what appears to be the stolen vehicle.
He wrote a series of odd tweets Tuesday, including: “where is this damn water buffalo” and “all i wanna do is get an anime wife.”
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11 a.m.
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.
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10:10 a.m.
Virginia state police say a soldier who was chased by police for more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) after he stole an armored personnel carrier from a National Guard base was driving under the influence of drugs.
Police identified the driver as 29-year-old Joshua Philip Yabut of Richmond. He also was charged with felony counts of eluding police and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Police declined to comment on Yabut’s motive for stealing the vehicle from Fort Pickett Tuesday evening. They said the investigation is ongoing.
Yabut is being held at the Richmond jail. It could not immediately be determined if he has an attorney.
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7:01 a.m.
Police in Virginia say they arrested a soldier who stole an armored personnel carrier from a National Guard base and was chased by police for more than 60 miles (100 kilometers).
State Police Sgt. Keeli Hill tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch the vehicle, which drives on tracks like a tank, topped out at speeds of about 45 mph (70 kph). Police couldn’t stop it, so they ended up escorting it, sirens blazing, ahead and behind it before the man finally stopped and go out near Richmond’s City Hall.
Authorities have not identified the driver. Witnesses said he got out and started walking around before police sent a dog to attack him, shot him with a Taser and took him into custody.
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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com
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