OREGON CITY, Ore. – A second man accused of using a stolen excavator to smash into an ATM and steal cash in June has been formally charged in Clackamas County.
Kevin Owen Miller, 51, was arraigned on charges including first-degree aggravated theft, criminal conspiracy, three counts of first-degree criminal mischief, possession of a stolen vehicle, and three counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
His co-defendant, Matthew Evan Armour, 32, was charged last month in connection with the same incident. Armour faces similar counts, including first-degree aggravated theft, criminal conspiracy, and two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Authorities say the two men drove a stolen pickup truck to a construction site near a U.S. Bank branch on SE Sunnyside Road on June 23, stole a Caterpillar 315 excavator, and used it to tear apart an ATM, gaining access to a significant amount of cash.
Deputies from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene in the early morning hours and found the excavator still running, abandoned near the drive-through ATM.
Miller is currently being held at the Multnomah County Jail for violating post-prison supervision. He was also indicted earlier this year in Clark County, Washington, where he faces separate charges for a similar attempted ATM burglary involving theft, burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, and possession of a controlled substance.
Miller’s next court appearance in Clackamas County is scheduled for Sept. 17. His bail is set at $40,000.
A San Bernardino County wildfire that spanned 680 acres and took 275 firefighting personnel eight days to contain began with a few sparks from an excavator.
The government is suing an Upland-based pipeline contracting company and its founder, Garrett John Gentry, for negligence and is seeking more than $2.2 million in damages in the fire, which chewed through 450 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest.
“Defendants are liable for all damages to the United States resulting from the South Fire, including its fire suppression costs and the United States’ administrative, investigative, accounting, and collection costs,” the government says in the lawsuit.
A call to Garrett J. Gentry Engineering was not immediately returned. The 14-year-old company serves California and Arizona and clears $35 million in revenue annually.
The agency said nine structures — residential and commercial — were destroyed and 28 others were damaged. There were no injuries or fatalities.
According to Cal Fire, the fire began north of Glen Helen Parkway and east of Sierra Avenue and Lytle Creek Road just west of the 15 Freeway. The lawsuit alleges the fire originated at a property at 4053 Lytle Creek Road in Fontana.
There, the suit says, Gentry was operating an excavator, attempting to determine the viability of developing a commercial property at an underdeveloped site.
The government said Gentry, the owner, realized he was on terrain that was too rocky and tried to leave the area. During his retreat, he noticed smoke behind him. He attempted but failed to suppress a fire that eventually kick-started the eight-day blaze, the lawsuit alleges.
Government investigators said the steel treads of the excavator struck rock and caused ignition. Nearby dry vegetation then served as fuel to propel the fire.
The government alleges that Gentry knew the area was rocky and “failed to exercise reasonable care,” according to the lawsuit.
Gentry and his company also failed to take action to prevent the fire, the lawsuit alleges.
California’s beaches are public, but on the sands of Malibu, one billionaire has been accused of stealing a slice of paradise — or at least a few scoops of it — for himself.
A lawsuit filed last week alleges that Mark Attanasio, billionaire businessman and owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, has been using excavators to dig up sand from Broad Beach and carry it back to his house as part of an ongoing construction project.
“This case is about a private property owner using a public beach as their own personal sandbox and the disturbing conversion of a public natural resource (i.e., sand from Broad Beach) for a nearby homeowner’s personal, private use,” the lawsuit says.
The suit was filed by Attanasio’s next-door neighbor James Kohlberg, son of Jerome Kohlberg, who founded the global investment company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Kohlberg’s lawyers accuse Attanasio’s construction team, JILK Heavy Construction, of operating enormous excavators in tidal zones, leaking oils and exposing local marine life to potentially hazardous byproducts. The suit alleges that the construction restricted public access to the entirety of the beach.
Attanasio bought the Broad Beach home for $23 million in 2007. A decade later, he picked up the neighboring property, an empty lot, for $6.6 million.
Mark Attanasio bought this Malibu parcel for $6.6 million in 2017 but never developed it.
(Mac Hayward)
In March, the Brewers owner obtained permits to repair a damaged section of seawall, according to the lawsuit. In June and July, excavators allegedly began dragging sand from the beach onto his private property and also left gasoline residue in the water and sand.
Attanasio’s attorney, Kenneth Ehrlich, said his client’s company, 2XMD Partners LLC, has acted in 100% compliance with all of its permits.
“2XMD is in the midst of a fully-permitted emergency repair of the property to protect it from ocean forces. It has secured all permits necessary for the repairs from the City of Malibu and LA County as well as thoroughly vetted all contractors and sub-contractors involved in the project,” Ehrlich wrote in a statement.
The lawsuit, which accuses Attanasio of public nuisance, private nuisance and violation of the California Coastal Act, calls for a stop to the construction, for the sand to be replaced and for fines to be issued.
The disputed stretch of sand sits just east of Lechuza Point in Broad Beach, a hyper-exclusive enclave where celebrities and business tycoons spend tens of millions of dollars for homes right on the water.
Over the years, the beach has been battered by violent storms and high tides, leading to significant sand depletion. In 2015, high-profile residents including Dustin Hoffman, Ray Romano and Pierce Brosnan committed to a $31-million restoration project to bolster the beach’s sand.
In the last few decades, Malibu has emerged as one of the priciest pockets in the country. Earlier this year, Oakley founder James Jannard sold his home there for $210 million — the priciest home sale in California history.
During that time, as the ultra-wealthy cram bigger and bigger homes into Malibu’s rugged mountains and along coveted beaches, the community has become the centerpiece of a debate over development vs. preservation and the government’s role in maintaining California’s natural beauty.
TEWKSBURY, England, January 17, 2018 (Newswire.com)
– Engcon, the world’s leading manufacturer of tiltrotators – the hydraulic wrist accessory that improves the efficiency, profitability and safety for 1 to 33 metric tonne excavators – has expanded its production facilities in Poland to meet demand.
Engcon had barely finished celebrating the opening of its new factory in Strömsund, Sweden, before announcing its next investment to extend its factory in Poland. One of the reasons for the investment is to meet the growing demand for tiltrotators in Europe, especially in France, Holland and the U.K.
Europe has discovered the tiltrotator. It all started with explosive growth in sales back in the early 2000s. That meant that we had to seriously step up our rate of production.
Stig Engström, Founder and Owner
“I am pleased and proud of the growth we have been experiencing since starting up in Poland,” Stig Engström, founder and owner of Engcon says. “We built the factory in Niepruszewo in 2012 to meet growing demand for buckets, ground compactors, grabbers and welded components. Due to our continued sales growth, we have just had the factory extended.”
The extension has added 1,000 square meters (10,764 square feet) to the factory, which will host a new assembly hall, testing facilities and an expanded space for processing, sheet metal cutting and burring. The office section has also been extended and Engcon has invested a total of more than £1.5 million in building the extension and procuring new equipment.
“Europe has discovered the tiltrotator,” confirms Stig. “It all started with explosive growth in sales back in the early 2000s. That meant that we had to seriously step up our rate of production.”
In 2003, Engcon decided to establish a strategic presence in Poland and to start up manufacturing operations in the country. The company leased a factory building and began production.
“Starting up production in Poland gave us a real boost,” continues Stig. “Eventually, we began reaching such large volumes that we needed to invest again. We bought a larger industrial site and built a new, modern factory which opened its doors in 2012. The factory was built entirely in line with our Swedish requirements.”
As the factory now expands its capacity, it looks to the factory in Strömsund, which recently implemented a completely automatic testing facility. This concept is currently being replicated in Poland for the products manufactured there.
“It is important for us to have the same conditions in Poland as we do in our other facilities so that we can reach our common quality objectives,” adds Dan Ekholm, production manager for the Engcon Group. “This expansion of our operations in Poland creates five new jobs directly and it looks like there will be many more on the way.”
