Daniel Prince
Fences damaged at Grace UMC, former Ottaray Mill site
Sheriff’s deputies received an alert Tuesday morning to be on the lookout for a white Ford F-450 dump truck that had been stolen from Lewis Funeral Home sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning. The complainant stated the dump truck was turning onto North Gadberry Street toward Main Street.
Captain Scott Coffer came out of the sheriff’s office to get into his patrol vehicle, and he saw the truck at the red light. Coffer activated his blue lights and went to block in the truck, but the suspect drove toward Coffer and then turned left on Main Street. He turned onto Church Street and then Perrin Avenue. The suspect struck and damaged the iron fence at Grace United Methodist Church and continued driving on toward Monarch. The suspect then struck a fence at the old mill site on Sims Avenue and proceeded on to Short Street. Eventually, the truck turned onto Neal Shoals Road, where it ended up wrecking near Beulah Baptist Church.
The driver, identified as 44-year-old David Paul Strickland, was taken into custody without further incident. Strickland faces two charges of hit and run with a fixed object, as well as disregarding a traffic signal, driving under suspension, failure to stop for a blue light, and possession of a stolen vehicle. He is currently being held at the Union County Detention Center. Bond was set at $5802 for the charges.