Police: Man crushed state truck with excavator

Massachusetts resident charged with criminal mischief

WINSTED >> A Massachusetts man has been charged with criminal mischief after crushing a truck parked near the Mad River Dam in Winsted with an excavator more than a year ago, police said.

Corey W. Owens, 23, of 10 Skyline Drive, Nantucket, Mass., was ar- rested March 29 on a warrant from the Barnstable County Jail in Buzzard’s Bay, Mass., and charged with first-degree criminal mischief, a class D felony, and

second-degree false statement, according to police.

According to an affidavit seeking a warrant for Owens’ arrest, members of the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crimes Unit responded to the Mad River Dam on Dec. 21, 2015, after employees for McLellan Tree Service reported damage to heavy machinery on site. The workers arrived at the dam around 6:30 a.m. and found the companyowned Caterpillar excavator lodged on top of the cab of the company-leased Kenworth tractor trailer, a state police detective wrote in the affidavit.

The loss caused by the damage to the tractor trailer was appraised at a value of $62,984.72, according to the affidavit, while the vehicle was insured for $80,000.

Evidence was noted and recovered on scene, including a tire track that did not seem to belong to a company vehicle, a footwear impression, a partially burned cigarette and corresponding carton, according to the affidavit. The handle of a gas can left on site by employees was swapped as it was found with only a residual amount of fuel, police said.

Employees of the company told police that they did not smoke, according to the affidavit. Owens was identified as a suspect.

McLellan Tree Service owner Robert Gagne Jr. told police that no one by Owens’ name, or by the name of another individual believed to be involved in the incident, had worked for the company, according to police.

In a July 2016 interview with police, Owens said he had visited the dam in the past, but denied driving the excavator over the truck. He initialed a form used to make this statement containing a warning against violation of state statute 53a-157b, which concerns making a false statement to a public official, police said.

In the summation to the affidavit, the detective notes that Owens’ DNA was found on the cigarette and on the pack.

According to testimony to police recounted in the affidavit, Owens was reportedly under the influence of mushrooms when the act took place.

Owens was held in lieu of a $5,000 court-set cash bond and scheduled to appear in Bantam Superior Court on March 30.

Corey W. Owens

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The aftermath of the incident released by state police Thursday.