An employee of a manufacturing facility on the east edge of Bloomfield is accused of felony criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon following an incident in the parking lot of the workplace.

As he was leaving work on Saturday, April 7, Mackshane P. Budd, a 40-year-old Sandborn man, is accused of using his vehicle in an attempt to hit another employee in the parking lot of Metal Technologies, Inc.

The company contacted local police early Thursday, April 12, and Bloomfield Town Marshal Kenneth Tharp began an investigation. It didn’t take long before Budd was arrested.

Later that same morning, with assistance from Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Pope, Budd was stopped on his way into Bloomfield and taken into custody by Marshal Tharp. Budd was booked into the Greene County Jail at 11:08 a.m.

The incident was caught on video surveillance provided by the company. Tharp viewed the video and said it clearly showed Budd walk to a 2001 Ford passenger car and apparently wait until he saw the other employee exit the building and walk into the parking lot. Budd then placed his vehicle into drive and accelerated as the intended victim, headed to his own vehicle, walked into the traffic lane of the lot.

In a probable cause document, Tharp wrote, the man “was not looking at the oncoming vehicle and looked up just in time to jump out of the way of the vehicle in order to not be struck by the vehicle operated by Mackshane P. Budd.”

Tharp also noted that in the video, Budd appeared to brake hard to avoid striking the man, but did not stop. After braking, the vehicle continued to roll then accelerated out of the parking lot.

In addition, Tharp said there were several other people in the vicinity of the parking lot when this occurred.

After the incident, Budd received a write-up and a two-day suspension from the company’s human resources director. During a counseling session, Budd allegedly admitted that he wanted to hit his intended victim to make a point.

Budd’s bond was set at $4,000 surety with ten percent allowed and he was released the same day of his arrest after posting $400 cash.

When Budd appeared for his initial hearing in Greene Superior Court, he was charged with criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, a Level 6 felony. The state was represented by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kevin McIntosh and a public defender, Ellen Martin, was appointed to represent Budd.

Budd is due back in court for a hearing in June but no trial date has been set.