Stafford authorities say they stopped a dump truck that had been reported stolen and received an unusual explanation.

By KARI PUGH

Date published: 1/16/2004

A twice-convicted drunken driver accused of stealing a dump truck in Stafford County told deputies he did it because he had to make a beer run.

Officers found Budweiser on the seat of the 1999 Ford F550 dump truck after stopping the driver Wednesday afternoon on Courthouse Road in front of Brooke Point High School, sheriff's Capt. David Roderick said.

Culpeper resident Christopher Duane Walker, 33, of Clayhill Road in Lignum was charged with grand larceny, drunken driving, DUI as a second or third offense in 10 years, driving after being judged an habitual offender and driving on a revoked license, Roderick said.

Authorities were on the lookout for the dump truck after a construction worker flagged down Deputy J.B. Walker about 3 p.m.

The man said he'd left the work site on Ram Court off Brooke Road in his personal vehicle. On the way back, he saw his dump truck speeding past on Brooke Road, Roderick said.

The worker said he'd left the keys in the ashtray and the truck unlocked.

Walker broadcast a description of the truck and seconds later, deputies spotted it headed back toward the construction site.

Two men were inside the truck when the deputies stopped it right by the school.

Police learned the men were working on a deck right next to the construction site. They told deputies they ran out of beer and decided to take the truck to get some, Roderick said.

They did not have permission to take the dump truck, he said.

A computer check showed the man behind the wheel had been convicted of drunken driving in Culpeper County twice since 1994. He also had a revoked license and had been judged an habitual offender, meaning his driving privileges are permanently suspended in Virginia.

The man in the passenger seat, 33-year-old Albert Frasier of Spotsylvania County, was charged with public drunkenness, Roderick said.

To reach KARI PUGH: 540/374-5413 kpugh@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 1/16/2004