Bulldozer heist not a joyride

SANDPOINT — Probable cause has been found in the case of a Boundary County man charged with the July theft of a bulldozer from crews working on the Granite Hill highway project.

Allen James Funkhouser, 30, was arrested following a slow-speed chase. Idaho State Police Cpl. Shane Grady responded to a report of a dozer stolen from a construction site on U.S. 95 near Athol. Grady was able to catch up with Funkhouser on U.S. 95 near Homestead Road just before the Bonner-Kootenai county line.

Prior to Magistrate Judge Justin Julian finding enough probable cause to move the case forward, Funkhouser’s defense team had asked to reschedule the hearing, saying they were looking into resolving the case with a different active case out of Kootenai County. Prosecutor Dan Rodriguez objected, saying that the state had gathered witnesses and were ready to proceed with the hearing. The defense conceded, and the hearing progressed.

Aaron Gilbert, an employee of M.A. DeAtely Construction, testified that a coworker alerted him to a person driving the bulldozer on the site shortly after 6 a.m. on Sunday, July 18. Gilbert said the person, whom police later identified as Funkhouser, damaged some of the traffic barricades while he was allegedly driving the bulldozer.

“[He] chewed up our roads, chewed up our barricades, and ran over a couple vaults,” Gilbert said.

In response to a question by Rodriguez, Gilbert described a vault as a metal box containing electrical utility equipment aiding in internet connection.

Gilbert further testified that the bulldozer, a D8-T Caterpillar valued at $875,000, was not damaged during the excursion.

Also testifying for the prosecution, Grady said he was dispatched to the scene where he found the dozer traveling south on U.S. 95, blocking traffic. According to Grady, once he caught up with the bulldozer, he commanded the driver to exit the piece of equipment. Funkhouser was cooperative with his commands, even though he had difficulty opening the door at first.

Rodriguez asked Grady if Funkhouser gave a reason for why he was driving the bulldozer.

“He was concerned that the night before he had cut down a couple of trees near a railroad track and had risen up the ‘Chinese Aztec Army’. And they had apparently made him a king. And at some point he believed that they were conspiring to kill him. And he needed a code to send them back. And the code was in that machine, the bulldozer, to send them back,” Grady responded.

“That’s the reason he took the bulldozer?” asked Rodriguez.

“Yes sir, he was concerned he was trying to save the world,” Grady said.

The defense did not cross-examine either of the witnesses.

Julian then contemplated Funkhouser’s actions to decide if he intended to keep the bulldozer, or if he was simply taking it for a joyride.

“It’s an unusual case,” said Julian. “His intent to steal is perhaps questionable. It seems almost like joyriding by the defendant’s state of mind, as confused as it was.”

“By his own statements, appeared to be intending to keep the bulldozer to, in some fashion, from an invading army,” Julian continued.

Once determining that there was probable cause, Julian scheduled Funkhouser for arraignment in front of First District Judge Barbara Buchanan for Nov. 3.

Funkhouser has 25 previous cases in the Idaho court database going back to 2007 when Funkhouser was 16 years old. The previous cases are out of Boundary, Bonner, and Kootenai counties for crimes including burglary, pedestrian under the influence, use of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, resisting arrest, and others.