A man was arrested early Sunday morning after stealing a forklift from a church construction site in Lake County and taking it for a joyride.
Residents near the First Baptist Church site in Umatilla called 911 after seeing the forklift plow through a fence surrounding the construction site. When a Umatilla police officer arrived at the construction site at 2:30 a.m., he saw 25-year-old Jordan Meadors getting out of the seat of the large yellow forklift. When the officer asked Meadors what he was doing, Meadors said, “A guy that he just met told him he was allowed to drive the forklift and park it across the street,” according to the officer’s arrest report.
Meadors was placed under arrest on a charge of loitering and prowling and was taken to the Lake County Jail where he was found to have methamphetamine in his coat.
Later that day, another officer made contact with the forklift’s owner who told the officer that he wanted to prosecute the person who took the forklift and damaged the construction fence.
Meadors is facing charges of introducing contraband into a county detention facility, possession of methamphetamine, criminal mischief, loitering or prowling, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, and theft. Bond was set at $21,500.
