A 40-year-old Mineral man is wanted for arrest after he allegedly flipped a motorhome and then stacked a pickup truck on top of it using a front-end loader.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Kelly P. Dempsey allegedly said he “flipped the motorhome and crushed the pickup” to get back at a man who “slept with his girlfriend.”
He later told law enforcement he’d damaged the wrong persons’ vehicles.
Dempsey is charged with one count each of first-degree malicious mischief, second-degree malicious mischief, attempting to elude a police vehicle and third-degree driving with a suspended license. He faces the greatest possible penalty for the first-degree malicious mischief charge, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.
Dempsey failed to appear for a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday, prompting Judge Paul Strophy to order a bench warrant with a $10,000 bail.
According to the affidavit, a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a malicious mischief complaint in the Mineral area on July 22. He arrived to find a motorhome on its side.
A white Dodge pickup truck sat on top of the motorhome.
“The truck was being compressed down into the motorhome by (a) front-loader,” the affidavit said. “The bed of the pickup appeared to be separated from the cab of the truck.”
The motorhome also appeared damaged.
The deputy spoke with the witness who’d called in the complaint.
The man said he’d gone outside his home and saw the vehicles “stacked that way,” according to the affidavit.
The man noticed a pickup truck parked in the driveway and approached. He saw Dempsey inside. Before leaving, Dempsey allegedly told the man he had “smashed” the motorhome and pickup to “get back at someone who had slept with his girlfriend.”
The witness told the deputy he owned the damaged pickup truck.
Another man, not present at the scene, owned the motorhome.
The deputy photographed the two vehicles and left.
Later that day, the deputy learned Dempsey had come back to the property riding a blue motorcycle and was allegedly refusing to leave. The witness wanted him trespassed.
On his way back to the property, the deputy saw a blue motorcycle heading toward him.
He recognized Dempsey from his Department of Licensing photo.
The deputy turned on his siren and lights. Dempsey allegedly accelerated.
According to the affidavit, Dempsey allegedly hit speeds of 100 mph as he rode through residential areas and escaped the deputy’s pursuit.
The next day, a man claiming to be Dempsey called the deputy and allegedly admitted to damaging the truck and motorhome.
According to the affidavit, Dempsey said he’d thought the vehicles belonged to someone other than the victims.
“Dempsey said he was sorry and was planning to apologize to the owners,” the affidavit said.
Dempsey allegedly denied eluding the deputy and said he would meet with him later that day.
According to the affidavit, Dempsey never spoke to the deputy again.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Dempsey on Aug. 14.
