WESTMORELAND, N.H. (AP) – From behind bars, the man who drove a bulldozer into the police station in Troy says he just wanted to draw attention to a legal system he says has taken everything from him.
Stanley Burt, 34, is charged with smashing the machine into the station early Friday, heavily damaging the building. He was arrested at the scene.
At the Cheshire County Jail, where he was being held on $200,000 bail, Burt told The Keene Sentinel he wanted to make a point.
He recently got out of jail after being convicted of being a habitual motor vehicle offender. He’s also been arrested on charges including criminal mischief, resisting arrest and assault.
“I lost my kids” because of the system, Burt said Friday, his cheeks flushed and his voice muffled by tears. “I lost my house. … I lost my truck. I just couldn’t believe the turn my life had taken.
“I was a responsible member of society,” he said softly. The legal system “stole that from me. It put me in this position. It took everything I had.”
Troy Police Chief Howard Sheats declined to comment.
Since his release from jail last April, Burt said it’s been tough to hold a job. He can’t commute to work because he lost his driver’s license.
Burt said he considered attacking the building before, he said.
He said he had seen the bulldozer several times before near the former Troy Mills complex. From previous jobs as a construction worker, he said he knew that drivers often store bulldozer keys in their vehicles in case they have to be moved.
A police officer pulling into the station parking lot around 1:30 a.m. reported seeing the bulldozer ram the building three times. The building was empty and no one was injured.
In court Friday, Burt told a judge police harassment drove him to head for the station. He said he wanted an investigation.
“I didn’t want to hurt anybody,” Burt said in the newspaper interview.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get away with it,” he said. “I just wanted to get attention to (my situation).”
He said with the station in shambles, he felt a slight sense of relief.
“It needed to happen. The anger’s been there (in me) all along.”
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