Merced County deputies arrest man who tried to flee across Highway 99 on tractor
A 33-year-old Merced man was taken into custody earlier this month after he tried making a getaway from Merced County Sheriff’s deputies on a stolen tractor.
Matthew Thomas Bollinger was suspected of stealing the 2017 Frontloader tractor on Oct. 27 in Stanislaus County.
Authorities located the vehicle and suspect Dec. 26 near Delhi in Merced County, according to a Merced County District Attorney’s Office news release..
After authorities found Bollinger, they pursued him while he was allegedly driving the stolen tractor. He passed through barrier fencing on Highway 99 and even drove across the northbound and southbound lanes of the highway, the release said.
The tractor became stuck, the release said, and Bollinger fled on foot before law enforcement apprehended him.
Bollinger was on felony probation for grand theft involving a tractor and attempted grand theft in two other cases.
The Merced County District Attorney’s Office charged Bollinger with felony evasion, felony possession of stolen property and felony vandalism resulting from the incident with the trailer.
He was booked in the Merced County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.
According to the Merced County Jail log, he also has a previous record of domestic violence involving injury of a spouse or cohabitant within the last seven years.
