--- title: "2 Marines skip out on Waffle House check, vandalize aircraft, get arrested" description: "Two North Carolina Marines were arrested after they were caught skipping out on their Waffle House check and vandalizing a helicopter." date: "2022-08-25" modified: "2022-08-25" authors: - name: "Max Hauptman" job_title: "Breaking News Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/max-hauptman/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marines-waffle-house-helicopter-vandalism/" categories: - "Marine Corps" - "Military Branches" - "News" --- # 2 Marines skip out on Waffle House check, vandalize aircraft, get arrested ![]() *This will end well. (Image via Havelock Police Department Facebook)* A couple of Marines, out on a Saturday night, what could possibly go wrong? Apparently, a whole lot. Two Marines stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, N.C. turned themselves into police last Tuesday after they were caught on camera vandalizing a local tourist attraction. Pfc. William J. West and Lance Cpl. Andrew E. Carranza were charged with [injury to real property and a city ordinance violation of disorderly conduct](). The affair began shortly before 3.am. on Saturday, Aug. 20, when the two men were captured on security cameras at the Havelock Tourist & Event Center. ![]() *CCTV footage (City of Havelock Police Department)* ![]() *CCTV footage (City of Havelock Police Department)* ![]() *CCTV footage (City of Havelock Police Department)* ![]() *CCTV footage (City of Havelock Police Department)* The duo, one of whom can be seen wearing a sweatshirt with “USMC” emblazoned on the front, were seen walking around some of the aircraft on display. One man climbed into an RF-4B Phantom II and began snapping some pictures of his own. The two then tried to spin the rotor blades of an HH-46E, before breaking two windows and climbing inside the helicopter. Police estimated the damages to the helicopter to be roughly $1,000. When the Havelock Police Department released some of the security camera photos on Monday, Aug. 22, it revealed that the early morning vandalism had only been the conclusion of what was almost certainly not a well thought out evening. ![]() *(City of Havelock Police Department)* West and Carranza had also been seen at a local Waffle House, where the two apparently skipped out on the check. Employees at the Waffle House reviewed their own security camera footage from about an hour prior to the vandalism and recognized the pair as the same two people seen at the Tourism & Event Center. West and Carranza turned themselves into police on Aug. 22 and were released back to MCAS Cherry Point after being charged, according to a police[ press release](), and have a court date scheduled for Sept. 1. Police added that the investigation into the Waffle House thievery remains open and further charges are pending. So remember, folks: try not to wear clothes with your branch on them if you’re committing a break in; pay your bill at the Waffle House; and nothing good happens after midnight. ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **Millions of troops cry out in horror as Dodge announces** [**end of the Charger and Challenger**]() - **An Air Force captain with top secret security clearance vanished.** [**He resurfaced 35 years later**]() - **Charges reinstated** [**against Navy Corpsman**]() **in case of Green Beret contractor killed in Iraq** - **The Army wants you to** [**skip ‘entry-level’ civilian jobs**]() **and be an officer instead** - **The Air Force published an** [**entire photo album of mustachioed troops**]() **and it’s glorious** **Want to write for Task & Purpose?**[ **Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on**[ **our homepage.**]() ## Author Max Hauptman is a former breaking news reporter at Task & Purpose. He previously worked at The Washington Post as a Military Veterans in Journalism Fellow, as well as covering local news in New England. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Instagram]()