Photo: Remore Allen Smith and his ride
REDDING – Shortly after 3AM on September 27th, the ARCO /AMPM gas station on Churn Creek Road was the location of an unusual scene. 37-year-old North Carolina resident Remore Allen Smith reportedly engaged in behavior that led to calls to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.
The responding deputies came to the gas station in the 4600 block of Churn Creek Road where a witness advised them that they had seen a man “driving a large construction excavator down Churn Creek Road.”
The witnesses described to officers how the suspect drove the excavator “into the overhang at the gas station.” Seeing the extensive damage Smith caused, the witnesses were successful in persuading him to stop driving.
The suspect had apparently stolen the excavator from a site on the on northbound ramp of South Bunnyview Road, proceeding onto Interstate 5
Before stopping at the ARCO station, Smith knocked down a light pole and drove through the parking lot of the nearby Chevron station.
The investigation was eventually taken over by the Redding Police department who reported “a brief struggle” before Smith’s arrest.
“Smith was placed under arrest for stealing a vehicle, resisting arrest and for hit and run.”
