News-Sun staff report
AVON PARK -- A 23-year-old Frostproof man was arrested Wednesday and charged with pointing a gun at one man and hitting another man with his truck stemming from an argument over a woman. He then got in more trouble at the Highlands County Jail after allegedly breaking out of a room to make a telephone call.
According to an Avon Park Police Department report, William Shepard Perkins got in a verbal altercation with Alvin Carl Tharp at Sierra's bar north of Avon Park over Perkins' girlfriend. Perkins left the bar with Shawn Michael Leonhart, and drove to a secluded location just over the Polk County line.
The report said that Perkins told Leonhart he was angry that Tharp had a previous relationship with his girlfriend and that he "wasn't afraid to kill (Tharp)." Perkins then drove back into Avon Park looking for Tharp, and caught up with him Wednesday driving south on U.S. 27 near Wal-Mart.
Perkins reportedly pulled alongside Tharp's car and began yelling at him, then pointed a shotgun out the window. Perkins reportedly kept the shotgun pointed at Tharp until the two vehicles reached State Road 64.
When Perkins reached the intersection of Bell Street and U.S. 27, he reportedly stopped in the turning lane, at which point Leonhart demanded that Perkins give him the gun. Perkins refused and the two began to struggle over the gun before Leonhart jumped out of the truck and began walking away, headed through the Wendy's parking lot.
That's when, the report said, Perkins "accelerated his 1993 Ford F-150 truck directly at (Leonhart) and struck him with the front bumper." Leonhart sustained multiple abrasions on his cheek, shoulder, knee and ankle.
Leonhart called 911 and Perkins was arrested at 12:33 a.m. at the intersection of Bell Street and U.S. 27. A loaded 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun with a pistol grip was found on the passenger's seat of the truck, the report said.
Perkins was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for pointing the shotgun at Tharp and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for hitting Leonhart with his truck.
At 4:20 a.m., according to a Highlands County Sheriff's Office report, Perkins broke open a door covering a pipe chase leading from a medical holding cell in the jail, shimmied up the pipe and over the wall before breaking through the drop ceiling on the other side and trying to make a phone call.
The report said Perkins had been moved from the regular holding cell into the medical cell at 3 a.m. because the holding cell was needed for another purpose. At 4:20, a loud noise was heard coming from the room and detention staff found Perkins trying to make a phone call in the medical area.
He reportedly said he was angry that he hadn't been allowed to make a phone call and originally pulled a spring from the bed to use it to try to pick the lock before he realized he could pull the door from the wall. He said he was only outside the cell for about a minute before he was caught.
The damage was estimated at $300 to the pipe chase door and $100 to the drop ceiling. Perkins had charges of criminal mischief and escape added to his booking sheet.
He was being held Thursday on $112,000 bond.
Thursday, June 04, 2009 - www.newssun.com/0605-perkins-arrest