Thursday, May 6, 2010
Foot Chase Yields Arrest Of “peeping Tom”
A prowler who was reportedly peeping through a window at a Herb Drive resident in the early hours Thursday, was apprehended after leading law enforcement officials on a chase that spanned several blocks.
According to reports filed through the Lawrenceburg Police Department, the call for assistance came in around 2:19 a.m. While en route, dispatchers gave officers a description of the prowler. When they arrived in the area, they report spotting a male subject in the area of Raintree Court that matched the description given.
When they shone a spotlight on the subject, he reportedly fled on foot in the direction of Fifth Avenue. Some officers exited their cars and gave chase while others followed in their vehicles.
The reporting officer states that he lost sight of the man briefly but quickly located him once again. After a chase of several blocks during which they doubled back at times, officers report catching up to the man near the Fourth Street/Daniel Drive intersection.
Officers grabbed the suspect by his shirt and “used necessary force to place him on the ground and held him there.” He was subsequently handcuffed and placed under arrest. Officers note that he had a strong odor of alcohol about him and that he was uncooperative.
When they interviewed the victim she told deputies that she had exited her shower and was drying off, in the nude, when she looked up and noticed the man staring in through her bathroom window.
She told officers she screamed and the man walked to the apartment door and attempted to gain entry by turning the doorknob. When he was unable to gain access, she said he turned and left. She then placed a telephone call, summoning help.
The suspect, Richard Evan Bell, 25, of 300 Charlie Howell Road, Leoma, was booked through the Lawrence County Jail under charges of observation without consent, resisting arrest, and stop-frisk-halt. Bond was initially set at $3,300.
Bell is scheduled to answer the charges through Lawrence County General Sessions Court on June 4, 2010.
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