kepdawg
03-29-2007, 09:35 PM
Naked man driving church van arrested
Dallas: 39-year-old leads police on chase through two counties
08:21 PM CDT on Thursday, March 29, 2007
By EMILY TSAO / The Dallas Morning News
etsao@dallasnews.com
A naked Dallas man driving a church van was arrested Thursday after leading police and sheriff's deputies on a 35-mile chase that spanned two counties, authorities said.
John S. Leonard III, 39, was charged with evading arrest, said Sgt. Debbie Denny of the Wise County Sheriff's Department. He was being held at the Wise County Jail on $7,500 bail.
Bowie police in Montague County, about 90 miles northwest of Dallas, responded to a call about 2 a.m. Wednesday about a suspicious vehicle parked at a business. The caller said the man appeared to be rummaging through his van, said Bowie police Investigator Chris Hughes.
The man, who appeared to be clothed at the time, drove away when police arrived, he said. Police followed him to U.S. Highway 81, where he drove on the wrong side of the road and swerved to avoid oncoming traffic, Investigator Hughes said.
The chase continued for about 35 miles before ending in Wise County on U.S. Highway 287 a few miles north of Rhome, authorities said.
"When he pulled over to the side of the road, he hopped out and lay on the ground and complied with the officers' questions," Sgt. Denny said. He had a shirt wrapped around his head but was naked from the neck down, police said.
"I don't know why he was naked," she said.
The van belonged to Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas, the Sheriff's Department said.
Pastor Joel Pulis, of The Well Community church, which has a partnership with Cliff Temple in Oak Cliff, confirmed that Mr. Leonard had worked part time for his organization for the past six months. The program ministers to people with mental illness.
Mr. Leonard was bringing people home in the church van Tuesday morning and did not return to the church, Mr. Pulis said. A missing person's report was filed that evening.
Mr. Pulis said the next phone call about Mr. Leonard's whereabouts came from the Sheriff's Department.
"We are praying for him," he said.
Dallas: 39-year-old leads police on chase through two counties
08:21 PM CDT on Thursday, March 29, 2007
By EMILY TSAO / The Dallas Morning News
etsao@dallasnews.com
A naked Dallas man driving a church van was arrested Thursday after leading police and sheriff's deputies on a 35-mile chase that spanned two counties, authorities said.
John S. Leonard III, 39, was charged with evading arrest, said Sgt. Debbie Denny of the Wise County Sheriff's Department. He was being held at the Wise County Jail on $7,500 bail.
Bowie police in Montague County, about 90 miles northwest of Dallas, responded to a call about 2 a.m. Wednesday about a suspicious vehicle parked at a business. The caller said the man appeared to be rummaging through his van, said Bowie police Investigator Chris Hughes.
The man, who appeared to be clothed at the time, drove away when police arrived, he said. Police followed him to U.S. Highway 81, where he drove on the wrong side of the road and swerved to avoid oncoming traffic, Investigator Hughes said.
The chase continued for about 35 miles before ending in Wise County on U.S. Highway 287 a few miles north of Rhome, authorities said.
"When he pulled over to the side of the road, he hopped out and lay on the ground and complied with the officers' questions," Sgt. Denny said. He had a shirt wrapped around his head but was naked from the neck down, police said.
"I don't know why he was naked," she said.
The van belonged to Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas, the Sheriff's Department said.
Pastor Joel Pulis, of The Well Community church, which has a partnership with Cliff Temple in Oak Cliff, confirmed that Mr. Leonard had worked part time for his organization for the past six months. The program ministers to people with mental illness.
Mr. Leonard was bringing people home in the church van Tuesday morning and did not return to the church, Mr. Pulis said. A missing person's report was filed that evening.
Mr. Pulis said the next phone call about Mr. Leonard's whereabouts came from the Sheriff's Department.
"We are praying for him," he said.