By P. Solomon Banda, The Associated Press
Granby, Colo. (AP) -- When Marvin Heemeyer’s improvised tank, equipped with a TV camera for guidance, busted out of the side of a garage his buddy Pete Mitchell knew Heemeyer had to be smiling.
Heemeyer loved to weld, and this surely was his masterpiece, probably constructed over a several-month period.
“That’s the kind of guy he was,” Mitchell said. “‘He was a vindictive son of a ... (expletive deleted).
Within about two hours Heemeyer had knocked down or damaged nine buildings. No one was hurt before his bulldozer got stuck in a building and he killed himself.
Town manager Tom Hale said Heemeyer was angry after losing a zoning dispute over land near his muffler shop in the mountain resort town. Heemeyer also had been fined $2,500 in a separate case for not having a septic tank and other city code violations at his business, Hale said.
When he paid the fine, he enclosed a note with his check saying “Cowards,” Hale said.
Heemeyer’s first target was a shop at the cement plant, which sat about 100 yards from where he built “the machine,” an amored-plated bulldozer. He also damaged a newspaper office, town hall-library, bank, hardware store and a utility office.
Until then nothing had seemed out of the ordinary at his corrugated-metal building, where he kept cars, snowmobiles, boats, and now it seems a bulldozer. Mitchell said Heeymeyer hadn’t been seen much of late.
His sooped-up snowmobiles were the talk of the town for the amount of money he invested in the engines known as “Marv the Muffler Man” for his commericals on local TV station, and his skills as a welder were legendary.
“He could change a muffler by himself in 20 minutes,” Mitchell said. “No wasted motion. He knew what he was doing.”
Investigators believe he spent several months planning and building the quarter- to half-inch concrete box that no police bullet could penetrate. Described by some witnesses as resembling a large dumpster, up close police could see the details of Heemeyer’s handiwork, hydraulic lines and a radiator. Heemeyer had installed TV cameras connected to three monitors so he could see where he was going.
“How he built this was amazing,” said Grand County Commissioner James Newberry. “This was a very intelligent man. Once you saw the way his workshop was set up it’s possible.”
After blasting the box three times police discovered hinges that allowed them to pull out an air conditioning unit and get into the box. Crews had to use a crane to remove Heemeyer’s body. Police initially believed he had welded himself shut.
Once inside, investigators discovered four weapons, a .50 caliber rifle, two military style assault rifles and a handgun.
The time of death was under investigation duty officers heard a shot being fired from inside the box around 4 p.m. Friday. His death was only confirmed about 2 a.m. this morning and the body was removed about 10:30 a.m.