Man Charged After Driving Equipment Off Construction Site In The Middle Of the Night, Crashing

    Driving a piece of heavy equipment off a construction site in the middle of the night is bound to draw attention. Crashing it into a power pole across the street might garner even more notice. And telling police that you had been requested to undertake the activity could prove to be a hard sell.
   Jordan Meadors, 25, of Umatilla is facing a variety of charges in connection with such an incident, which occurred around 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, January 30. Meadors was charged with loitering and prowling after he went onto the construction site of a new sanctuary at the First Baptist Church of Umatilla, started a forklift-style piece of heavy machinery, and drove it off the property. He didn't get far, however, as the machine went into a pole across Orange Avenue adjacent to the property.
   Umatilla Police arrived as Meadors was getting out the equipment, with him reportedly telling police ‘that a guy that he just met told him he was allowed to drive the forklift and park it across the street’.
   A fence around the construction site was damaged in the drive-off.
   On Monday, police made contact with employees of the firm managing construction at the site, who confirmed no one had permission to be on-site or take equipment from it.