Possumblog

Perpetuating the Stereotype, Volume 1,242

Via Skillzy, whom I believe has never forced anyone to drink beer at knifepoint, this charming story from down Mobile way:

Police: Hitchhiker forced to eat at knifepoint

Thursday, March 16, 2006

By DAVID FERRARA
Staff Reporter

A Tennessee man faces kidnapping charges after police said Wednesday that he took a hitchhiker to a Robertsdale convenience store and forced him to eat pizza and drink wine at knifepoint.

Timothy Lee Hagewood, 42, of Clarksville Tenn., was charged with second-degree kidnapping and resisting arrest after the incident Tuesday evening.

Hagewood picked up Billy Watson, 35, of Jacksonville, Fla., somewhere along Interstate 10 in Mobile, according to Robertsdale Police Investigator Anthony Dobson. Watson entered Hagewood's Dodge pickup truck voluntarily and was apparently headed back to Florida.

The victim told police Hagewood had driven around the Baldwin County area before arriving in Robertsdale. They pulled into the Pride Express Food Mart, on U.S. 90, around 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Suddenly, Hagewood demanded that Watson sit down on the floor of the convenience store and eat ready-made pizza, the investigator said.

The horror. The horror.

Police believe Hagewood was drunk at the time, according to Dobson.

Gee, I wonder what would make them think that?

At one point, Hagewood offered a clerk $40 for a bag of ice and a soda and refused any change, Dobson said.

Hagewood then pulled a 5-inch knife from his pocket and pressed it against Watson's stomach, Dobson said.

Later, Hagewood opened a bottle of wine by breaking its tip over a table, took swigs, and told Watson, "Don't get up or I'll cut you," according to Dobson.

Seems like he should be more concerned about cutting his lip open--those wine bottles can be sharp! Ouchie! Of course, he had to use a bottle, because busting a carton over the counter just makes a big mess. Anyway,

Watson ate some pizza and drank wine "for a moment, to pacify (Hagewood) and to calm him down," Dobson said.

Along with at least four other patrons, two workers were inside at the time of the alleged incident. Each person escaped safely and the workers called police.

Hagewood never threatened either store clerk or the several patrons inside the business at the time, according to the investigator.

"They knew something was up when he put it (the knife) to the guy's stomach, so they got out," Dobson said.

Yep, that probably doesn't happen every day.

A security camera showed Hagewood step behind the counter at some point, but Dobson said it was unclear what Hagewood did in that area of the store.

Hagewood and Watson were inside the store for about 10 minutes before police showed up, according to Dobson.

When officers arrived, Hagewood tried to walk toward a billiard room in the rear of the store. One officer told Hagewood at least four times to lie on the floor. When he did not respond, the officer used a Taser, which uses an electrical charge to immobilize the suspect, Dobson said.

And here was po' ol' Timmy Lee, thinking his day had gone pretty doggone good up till then, and he'd found him a wine-drinkin' and pizza-eatin' buddy to hang out with, and then the MAN had to go and taser him! Bummer, dude!

Neither Watson nor anyone else inside the store was hurt during the incident, the officer said.

"I've been doing this 11 years, and I've never run across anything like that -- I've never seen anybody hold anybody at knifepoint and demand that they drink wine and eat pizza," Dobson said.

That'll be one to tell the grandkids, that's for sure.

Hagewood, who was being held in the Baldwin County Corrections Center in Bay Minette on $16,000 bond, faces between two and 20 years in prison if convicted of the felony kidnapping charge.

The lesson, Dobson said, is "Don't hitchhike. You never know who you're getting in the car with."

That is just so true.

Posted by Terry Oglesby at March 16, 2006 02:08 PM