By Lindsay Knowles
HARRISON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) - It’s unclear exactly how much damage a man did to the Harrison County Courthouse over the weekend when he crashed his truck into the side of the building.
Officials in Harrison County released surveillance video of the crash, which happened at 5:42 a.m. Footage shows the man driving straight into the glass entrance of the building. The man, who police later identified as 28-year-old Keith Cavalier, then climbs out the passenger side window of the truck. He proceeds to stand next to the truck for a few minutes, though a tow truck driver who responded to the crash said the man was not there when police arrived.
Police arrested Cavalier later that day after investigating the crash. He reportedly told officers that he drove his truck into the side of the courthouse in order to contact police so he could report stolen drug paraphernalia.
As of Wednesday, county officials say the property damage is still being assessed because they are having trouble finding an exact match for the materials that were damaged. However, the damage is believed to be more than $1,000, making it a felony.
"There is an aesthetics issue with finding an exact match for some of the materials," said Board of Supervisors spokesman Jeff Clark in a written statement on Wednesday. "Due to this factor, we are not able to project the cost of the project until this is resolved."
The building was not occupied at the time of the crash.
“The Harrison County Board of Supervisors is certainly glad that no one was injured during the crash," said Clark. “The board is appreciative of the work by the Gulfport Police Department with the arrest of the driver.”
Cavalier was charged with felony malicious mischief and first-offense DUI and booked into Harrison County Jail. As of Wednesday morning, Cavalier was still in jail being held on a $25,000 bond for the malicious mischief charge.
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