Early Sunday morning, a homeless woman in Victorville was arrested for attempting to steal a rather conspicuous object: a Burlington Northern and Santa Fe locomotive.
Shawna Marone, 45, was arrested on suspicion of illegally moving a locomotive with possible injury or death, according to county arrest logs. The locomotive was situated at the Victor Valley Transportation Center; Marone, who was found in the cab, told police deputies she wanted to take it for a joy ride, as reported by the Daily Press. Marone refused to exit the cab, but a deputy climbed in through an unlocked door and arrested her.
A nearby resident, Carlos De Lara, told ABC 7 that he was sleeping when the sound of the locomotive’s horn blring awakened him, adding, “I was mad. I thought it was an engineer waking me up. I hear it all the time but not like that.”
Marone reportedly leaned on the horn for ten minutes; the locomotive was stationary but the engine was running when police arrested her.
A spokesperson for BNSF told ABC 7 that the locomotive couldn’t have been moved, but its idle reduction device turns the locomotive on and off so the air brake system can be recharged.
Marone was booked into the High Desert Detention Center but later cited and released.
Marone was less successful than Derek Skyler Brux, who stole two Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotives from a Wyoming mine in October 2014, taking them for a 13-mile joyride at speeds of 70 mph before plowing into a second train.
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