April 14, 2020 ▸ History, People

Episode 472: Killdozer: Modern Day Hero or Complete Lunatic?

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On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the notorious Killdozer. This homemade battle tank was created a man named Marvin Heemeyer in 2002. He used it in Granby, Colorado and went on a rampage of revenge against the big wigs in city hall and the owner of a cement factory that he tried to stop from being built. Some people celebrate June 4 as Killdozer day—the day a little guy got revenge against government can factories. Others think he was a nut job who was told by God to run rampant through town and put a lot of folks in danger.

Marv was ex Air force, and he settled in Granby after he got out of the service. He found a home he loved and moved in and started work in a muffler shop. In no time, he owned his own muffler shop, and was an ideal citizen. He snowmobiled, did work for the police, and was the best welder in town. He bought some property, and in doing so, outbid a man named Cody Docheff, and this is where the trouble started.

Docheff wanted to build a concrete factory right next to Marv’s property. To make things worse, city hall seemed to be overtly on Docheff’s side. They rezoned Marv’s property and forced him to connect to a sewer line. However, the sewer line was hundreds of feet away and would have cost about $80,000 to get it set up. Oh, and he would have to get permission to build under Docheff’s property, which he was denied. So as a result, the city fined him $100 a day and at one point even refused to take his check.

Marv fought back legally, starting a lawsuit, and even having the fine points of the concrete plant gone over by a lawyer. Nothing he could do would stop the people who ran the town from siding with Docheff, and eventually, Marv bought a giant bulldozer from California and turned it into a bullet-proof tank. Like you do.

At points, its armor was a foot thick. It had video cameras, fresh air circulation, and gun ports for things as large as his .50 caliber rifle. He went on a rampage through town, which was caught on pretty amazing video. So, how many people died at the hands of the Killdozer? Was the city really so complicit in supporting the concrete factory? How did the Killdozer finally get stopped? What happened when Marv targeted industrial sized propane tanks with his sniper rifle? Why did he think God was telling him to do all this? Listen, laugh, learn.

Visit Our Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZbG9i1oGPA

https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/06/09/killdozer-day-marvin-heemeyer/

https://www.damninteresting.com/the-wrath-of-the-killdozer/

https://sofrep.com/news/folk-hero-or-real-villain-the-complex-tale-of-colorados-killdozer/

Tread: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5807330/