An officer with Virginia National Guard made a low-speed chase through the streets of Richmond, Virginia before finally getting arrested. The soldier who is a first lieutenant with the Virginia National Guard stole the armoured command post before taking off for a run on the roads of the city. The officer was later arrested and multiple charges were applied to him. The First Lieutenant Joshua Philip Yabut stole the M1068 armoured command post vehicle off the grounds of Fort Pickett, which is an Army National Guard base in Blackstone, Virginia.
National Guard told that Yabut was the commander of Headquarters Company, 276th Engineer Battalion in Virginia National Guard. Yabut drove the vehicle for almost two hours after leaving the Fort Pickett at 7:50 PM. He was arrested at 9:40 PM. Till that time Yabut drove the M1068 vehicle which created tracks like a tank on Interstates 85 and 95 to downtown Richmond. According to Google Maps, it was a 60-mile trip which takes only one hour to cover but the M1068 is not able of driving according to the speed limit. Police followed the M1068 with lights flashing and no injury or crashes were reported during the ride.
The M1068 is a mobile command post which is designed for use by US Army and National Guard headquarters units. It is based on the older M113 armoured personnel carrier, the boxy M1068 is designed to provide a protective space for headquarter troops even in case of a chemical or nuclear attack. The interior of the vehicle is taller than most vehicles which allow soldiers to work while standing up inside the vehicle. The vehicle is a slightly updated version of M577. It is lightly armoured and has no weapons on it. National Guard officials told that Yabut had his personal weapon on him the whole time. This means that they had M9 pistol or M4 carbine, but no ammunition was there.
Yabut’s Twitter feed showed pictures and videos of the joyride which were taken during the joyride. The National Guard Lieutenant also claimed that he has discovered a large illegal spy operation in the US. He also tweeted “I’m thinking about snitching.” He also filed with the US Federal Election Commision to run for Senate. He was arrested and sent to the Richmond jail on charges of driving under the influence of drugs, felony eluding police, and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.