LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A 23-year-old Illinois man, Gavin Blume, was arrested early Sunday after allegedly stealing a Lincoln Electric System (LES) work van and taking it on a damaging joyride through Lincoln.
At approximately 1:15 a.m., officers responded to the LES Service Center near 27th and Fairfield streets after receiving a report of a stolen utility van. According to police, the van had been left unlocked with the keys inside.
Witnesses and security footage showed a man jumping the facility’s fence, entering the van, and driving through the parking lot without headlights before crashing through an automatic gate, causing an estimated $15,000 in damage.
Roughly 15 to 20 minutes later, officers located the van and its driver in a parking lot near South 14th Street and Old Cheney Road.
Gavin Blume was arrested and taken to Lancaster County Jail. He faces charges of:
Theft by unlawful taking ($5,000 or more)
Criminal mischief ($5,000 or more)
