Man Avoiding Arrest Falls From Ceiling, Right In Front Of Police

In a bid to avoid being arrested by the police Sunday, a man from Scranton, Pennsylvania, was hiding in the crawl space of his girlfriend’s house at 1259 Bryn Mawr St. when he fell through the kitchen ceiling directly in front of an officer.

The 29-year-old Justin Thompson was being searched by the police and was wanted on charges of assault and harassment.

Later, Thompson was also charged on account of endangering the welfare of children because when he fell from the ceiling, there were children nearby, according to a criminal complaint filed by Patrolman Joseph Janczak, reported the Times-Tribune. Thompson was also charged with counts of avoiding arrest and frantically putting another person in danger.

Shaolin Miller, Thompson’s 26-year-old girlfriend was also charged by the police with hindering apprehension.

According to reports, police were looking for Thompson after a warrant for aggravated assault, simple assault, and harassment for an incident in September was issued last week.

Police reached Miller’s place while they were searching for Thompson. Miller co-operated with the police and let them search her house. In the meantime, with the footprints on the dusty floor, Sgt. Joseph Dombroski found a crawl space on the third floor of the house where Thompson was hiding. The police tried to arrest Thompson and also grabbed his shirt but he managed to escape and moved deeper into the crawl space.

Miller and Patrolman Steven Lavin were in the kitchen when Lavin suddenly heard a sound above him. Thompson fell through the ceiling right in front of him.

Magisterial District Judge Sean P. McGraw impeached Thompson on all charges and set bail on a bond of $20,000. He released Thompson’s girlfriend Miller on a bond of $5,000. The bail for Miller is not secured.

In another incident a man from Iowa City thought when being chased by police, driving faster will save him from being arrested. But his attempt to avoid arrest by driving through a parking ramp turned to be unsuccessful.

A 27-year-old John R. Odeen was seen driving 34 mph in a 25 mph zone. When the police tried to stop Odeen near the intersection of Burlington and Linn streets, he did not stop and rushed.

Later, the Odeen went into the Capitol Street parking ramp where he came to a shortstop before he could make his way through the gate. Though Odeen continued to speed through, he again came to a stop at the top of the ramp. The police grabbed him at this point and he was then taken into custody.

Odeen was charged with a drunken driving offense, fifth-degree criminal mischief, and operating a vehicle without an interlock device, reported the Gazette.