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RIVERDALE — An admittedly intoxicated man was arrested Wednesday after driving erratically through the parking lot of a Home Depot store.
Dale Arave, 38, told police he had consumed 1/8 gallon of whiskey before crashing his large pickup truck through bushes, a light post, storage sheds and swing sets displayed in the parking lot at 99 W. Riverdale Road. The truck came to a stop when it slammed into a curb and became high-centered.
It began when an officer driving near the store saw smoke coming from the parking lot. When he drove up, he found Arave inside the truck, spinning its tires out.
I could tell he wasn't stopping and calming down. He kept doing damage. That's why I thought, 'This could get interesting.'
–Brent Packer, bystander
Riverdale Police Lt. James Ebert said the officer ordered Arave out of the truck. Arave allegedly refused, directing an obscene gesture toward the officer instead.
Arave then backed the truck into a light post. Again, Ebert said the officer ordered Arave to get out of the truck, but Arave drove away a second time.
After he saw the truck take out a stop sign, Home Depot shopper Brent Packer caught most of the incident in a cellphone video, which Ebert called "a great piece of evidence."
"I thought he had just swerved off the road to avoid an accident or something, and he then continued to peel out his tires and to drive over the curb and bushes and little trees," Packer said. "I decided to pull up a little closer next to the sheds, and that's when he kind of started to turn towards me."
Packer said that while he made eye contact at one point with the other driver, he never thought Arave would come for him. Nevertheless, he said his hands shook as he took the video, grateful no cars or pedestrians were hit.
"I could tell he wasn't stopping and calming down," Packer said. "He kept doing damage. That's why I thought, 'This could get interesting.'"
After smashing through the sheds, Arave hit a curb and his truck became high-centered.
Arave, who "slurred his words and acted extremely impaired," refused to exit the truck and fought with officers when they attempted to remove him, according to the charges.
An officer deployed a Taser, but one of the prongs got caught in Arave's clothes, Ebert said.
p>Two handguns and three rifles were found inside the vehicle — all loaded, Ebert said. Arave sustained a cut on his forehead but was otherwise uninjured. Family members told police Arave was experiencing personal difficulties and was despondent.
Damage to store property is estimated at $20,000, Ebert said.
Arave was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later booked into the Weber County Jail. According to court documents, he was later charged with criminal mischief, a second-degree felony; failure to respond to officer's signal to stop, a third-degree felony; and interference with arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor.
