Police Find Meth After Man Flees Accident Scene
By: Jessica Reyes
Updated: December 15, 2011
An Abilene man helped police track down a man who fled the scene after crashing into a fence Wednesday night.
When Ben Mallon heard his dog, Abbey, barking Wednesday night, he came outside to see what was going on.
"Heard a police car come by real fast. When I was out here after the police car had gone past, I saw a guy crouching down and hiding," he said.
"He jumped the fence and came up between the two houses," said Patty Markham, a witness.
That's when Mallon called 9-1-1. He made sure the man didn't get too far from where he spotted him on Reading Avenue, but said it wasn't easy.
"I was running laps around that green house with him, so I was maybe 15 feet behind him talking to the police dispatcher. He knocked the trash can over at me. He was using some harsh language," Mallon recalled.
Police reports show the suspect was transported to Hendrick Medical Center with back injuries, but left against medical advice once he learned he wasn't under arrest.
When police came back later on to talk to Mallon, they picked up some clues as to why the suspect ran in the first place.
The officer asked me to retrace the steps. As we were going around, he said, 'look at that,' and he pointed out some small bags and said, 'that's meth,'" Mallon said.
Police took bags of meth and pill bottles from the scene for fingerprints. Mallon said he's glad he was able to help police and keep his neighborhood a safer place.
If I had a chance to help out in some way I wanted to do it. I want to make it easier for them to do their job," he said.
Mallon said the suspect pulled a knife on him at one point when he was chasing him down.
When Ben Mallon heard his dog, Abbey, barking Wednesday night, he came outside to see what was going on.
"Heard a police car come by real fast. When I was out here after the police car had gone past, I saw a guy crouching down and hiding," he said.
"He jumped the fence and came up between the two houses," said Patty Markham, a witness.
That's when Mallon called 9-1-1. He made sure the man didn't get too far from where he spotted him on Reading Avenue, but said it wasn't easy.
"I was running laps around that green house with him, so I was maybe 15 feet behind him talking to the police dispatcher. He knocked the trash can over at me. He was using some harsh language," Mallon recalled.
Police reports show the suspect was transported to Hendrick Medical Center with back injuries, but left against medical advice once he learned he wasn't under arrest.
When police came back later on to talk to Mallon, they picked up some clues as to why the suspect ran in the first place.
The officer asked me to retrace the steps. As we were going around, he said, 'look at that,' and he pointed out some small bags and said, 'that's meth,'" Mallon said.
Police took bags of meth and pill bottles from the scene for fingerprints. Mallon said he's glad he was able to help police and keep his neighborhood a safer place.
If I had a chance to help out in some way I wanted to do it. I want to make it easier for them to do their job," he said.
Mallon said the suspect pulled a knife on him at one point when he was chasing him down.
