A soldier accused of driving an armored military vehicle off a Virginia National Guard base recently took an unauthorized trip to Iraq and researched how to make bombs, according to a report.
Joshua Yabut was able to shed a monitoring device during a series of flights that led him to Iraq on Jan. 26, according to court records obtained by TV station WTVR.
With the help of his military ID, Yabut flew from Norfolk to Florida a few days earlier, according to the station. He then allegedly made stops in Charlotte, Toronto, Iceland, Berlin and Istanbul before arriving in the Middle Eastern country.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS: Court documents reveal Joshua Yabut, the man charged with stealing an armed military vehicle and traveling from Fort Pickett to Richmond, had his bond revoked after leaving the country. More from those court documents on @8NEWS at 6. pic.twitter.com/dzuxj5EcS8
— Nick Conigliaro 8News (@NConigliaroNews) March 13, 2019
He would return to Norfolk two days later, according to authorities. His ankle monitor was still on his body when he left for Florida, according to WTVR, but later apparently vanished.
“It’s both amazing and concerning,” Blackstone (Va.) Mayor Billy Coleburn told the station. “Not only did he fly, but he took a military flight…. you would think in the military alone you should be on a no-fly list.”
Additionally, Yabut is accused of attempting to learn how to produce bombs, according to a Virginia prosecutor. Nottoway County Commonwealth’s Attorney Terry Royall said in a motion that Yabut’s “recent online activity reveals research into bomb making,” according to WTVR.
Joshua Yabut, the former Army National Guard officer who led a chase in an armored personnel carrier from Fort Pickett in June, had his bond revoked in February after he broke the conditions of his agreement to reportedly travel to Iraq. @8NEWS
STORY: https://t.co/9uEobbYm2o pic.twitter.com/If7jTlB0ax— Nick Conigliaro 8News (@NConigliaroNews) March 13, 2019
Court documents obtained by the station found photos that “indicated” Yabut had been looking to have Denatonium Benzoate, a bitter chemical compound, shipped from China.
“I don’t think there’s any question to that, he presents a level of threat,” Col. Matt Bristol, a retired Staff Judge Advocate for the United States Air Force, told the station.
Yabut will go on trial for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle later this year after investigators say he stole an armored personnel carrier off a Virginia base and drove it 60 miles. He had called the allegations against him “completely bogus.”
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