A man caught joyriding in an SUV on the field at Petco Park was arrested Friday on suspicion of felony vandalism.
Police took the man into custody just before 10 a.m. at the downtown ballpark, where crews have been working on the field.
A witness recorded the man driving around the field, digging up the surface as he performed donuts on the field.
Ryan Carlson initially thought the man was a member of the San Diego Padres’ grounds crew when he saw the SUV enter the field through a tunnel.
“And then he just whips out and starts doing donuts,” Carlson told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Members of the grounds crew blocked the man from exiting the stadium with a small forklift at the left field tunnel’s entrance, The Union-Tribune reported.
“After about a minute, he came to a stop, and a bunch of the grounds crew guys made their way to the car and did like a citizen’s arrest,” Carlson said.
The San Diego Police Department did not provide many details of the arrest but Lt. Adam Sharki confirmed in an email to The Union-Tribune “someone drove onto the field of Petco Park and caused some damage.”
The name of the man arrested was not immediately available.