Southeast : Bulldozer Allegedly Used in Family Feud

Talk about family feuds. Thomas D. Sutherland, 25, apparently wanted to end his by plowing down his brother’s Long Beach house with a stolen bulldozer, police said Monday.

Sutherland had smashed a station wagon in the driveway of his 37-year-old brother’s home and torn up 56 feet of city sidewalk by the time police arrived Sunday evening, Long Beach Police Cpl. Josef Levy said. Police were still trying to figure out why Sutherland was so angry at his brother, whose name was not released.

Sutherland, also of Long Beach, allegedly stole the 56-ton, $500,000 bulldozer from a construction materials company and drove it down city streets to his brother’s Gardenia Avenue house about half a mile away.

Neighbors reported hearing the roar of machinery as Sutherland lurched into his brother’s driveway and, with the scoop raised high, charged the house, Levy said. The brother, his wife and their 10-year-old daughter fled to safety.

The brother reportedly restrained Sutherland until police arrived.

Sutherland was booked for investigation of attempted murder, grand theft, drunken driving, driving on a suspended license, and on an outstanding misdemeanor traffic warrant. He was in custody Monday in lieu of $500,000 bail.