EAST MONTGOMERY COUNTY – The officer who ended a high speed chase on Thursday morning by shooting a suspect’s tires had a strange Wednesday as well.
Lt. Mark Seals with the Pct. 4 Constable’s Office encountered the same vehicle repeatedly, tried to help that vehicle’s owner get it returned, wound up having his life threatened over that same vehicle, and then saw the vehicle one more time as he arrested the suspect believed to have threatened his life.
Seals made a routine traffic stop and found the driver of the sedan was not its registered owner. However, the car was not reported stolen. The man told Seals that he borrowed the car, and was about to return it to its owner.
Later that evening, Seals responded to a location where a caller said several men were fighting. He arrived to find a large disturbance and happened to notice the vehicle he stopped earlier was parked there, although the driver was not part of the disturbance. Seals again approached the vehicle and reminded the driver that he earlier stated he was returning the vehicle to its owner. The driver assured Seals he was about to do just that.
The vehicle was blocked in by patrol vehicles and other civilian vehicles, waiting for a path to clear when a dispatcher contacted Seals saying the car’s owner wanted to talk to the lieutenant.
As requested, Seals called the woman who owned the car and she asked if he had the car towed earlier. Seals told her the vehicle was not impounded, but oddly enough, he was looking at the car as they spoke. The woman confirmed the car was loaned to the driver, but said it was supposed to have been returned already and if that did not happen soon, she would report it stolen.
Seals spoke with the driver and relayed the message. The driver again assured Seals he was about to return the vehicle, which Seals told the owner. She thanked the lieutenant.
Everyone went their separate ways and Seals was about to call it a night when his county cell phone rang. An angry male on the other end of the phone was cursing Seals and said he would kill the lieutenant if his car was not returned. Seals informed the caller he was speaking to a police officer but the cursing and the death threats continued. Seals then realized the hostile caller got his county cell phone number from the caller ID of the car owner he spoke with earlier. Apparently, the driver/borrower still had not returned the vehicle and the owner’s boyfriend was holding Seals responsible.
Seals said he repeatedly made it clear to the caller that he was threatening the life of a peace officer but the threats continued, so Seals informed dispatch of the situation and headed to the caller’s address along with other officers who responded for backup.
To his amazement, Seals saw the infamous sedan parked outside the residence when he arrived. It seems the driver/borrower decided to return the car after all, but it was too late to prevent the owner’s boyfriend from committing a crime. Seals said the caller seemed surprised when he was arrested. Seals then learned that the driver/borrower, the car owner, and the threatening caller all lived in the same residence.
Nathan Wade Davis, 22, of 18659 Forest Lane Circle in New Caney was charged with harassment/threat by telephone, a class B misdemeanor. As of this writing, he remains in the Montgomery County Jail with bond set at $500.
Seals were finally headed home from the office after he finished with Davis, when he happened upon a car in a ditch that was wrecked by an intoxicated driver. Fortunately, the Texas Department of Public Safety handled that incident and Seals was at long last able to go home and get a little rest before he returned to the office on Thursday and wound up in a high-speed chase.
Anyone with the Pct. 4 Constable’s Office would agree that there is never a dull moment in East Montgomery County
