ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A man was charged after he stole an airport vehicle and broke into the St. Louis Lambert International Airport airfield through a secured gate.
Justin Doyle was charged Friday with two counts of second-degree assault and one count of each second-degree terrorist threat, first-degree property damage, second-degree property damage and resisting arrest. He is being held without bond.
According to court records, Doyle walked down a grassy hill and found a yellow airport utility pickup truck still running with keys in it.
Police said Doyle took the truck, broke through a security gate and drove onto the airfield, blocking a taxiway that an airplane was using.
Several officers confronted Doyle and told him to get out of the truck. He got out before getting back and driving away, nearly striking an officer who had to avoid getting hit, court documents said.
The probable cause statement said Doyle continued to drive the truck and began accelerating behind a passenger airplane that had landed with passengers on board. A police vehicle attempted to disable the vehicle and caused it to spin around.
The truck then collided head-on with a police vehicle and continued to accelerate until another officer ordered him to step out of vehicle.
Airport police and operations staff arrested Doyle.
Runway 11-29 was closed out of caution during the incident while other runways remained in operation, airport spokesperson Roger Lotz said. The gate was "immediately" repaired and the runway reopened at 1:19 p.m. on Thursday.
