Feature Writer John Christie – Florida Man Rides Lawn Mower Straight to Jail
Charles McDaniel, a Florida resident, tried to evade police by attempting to get away from them on a riding lawn mower. He was cuffed and arrested not far from his home. Police also found a stolen 38-caliber pistol which was tossed in a ditch on the side of the road.
McDaniel was charged with theft of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and being in possession of a firearm. Apparently evading on a lawn mower is not a crime, however.
According to Bobby Cleveland who holds the record for the fastest speed on a riding lawn mower, McDaniel should also be charged with poor planning. Cleveland says that lawn mowers are not great vehicles to get away from authorities with. Cleveland should know because he broke the record for the highest speed ever achieved on a lawn mower, reaching a speed of 96.529 mph.
Cleveland says that there are few vehicles slower than a riding lawn mower. “You could get it to about 7 or 8 miles per hour–max,” said Cleveland, who last week shattered existing speed records when his souped-up mower reached over 96 mph on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats.
But getting a lawn mower to that kind of speed takes a lot of work with the engine, as well as skill behind the wheel. Store bought lawn mowers just aren’t built to be getaway vehicles, he said. “It’s not an escape vehicle. You’re sitting up there too high, so there’s nowhere to hide. And they’re just a little too slow–unless you’re on my mower.”
If McDaniel had gotten away from police, the mower would have left thousands of little clues for them, Cleveland said. ”All the grass clippings would be a giveaway.”
Charles McDaniel committed a seriously dumb crime. Trying to evade police with an illegal firearm by using a lawn mower just isn’t terribly smart. This reminds me of a story about a Florida man who was pulled over for drunk driving on his lawn mower on main roads. When police found him, he had an open cup of beer in the attached cup holder and multiple other incidents on his record which had caused him to lose his license. Apparently, he was attempting to exploit a loophole by not using a car.
Perhaps they should have a prison for dumb criminals and recreate some of these incidents to turn them into positive community contributions. For all the criminals who decided to evade police on lawn mowers, or were caught driving drunk on them, they could be sent out to local parks to help maintain the vast amounts of grass. Not only would they be helping to make the surrounding community better, it’s a perfect case of the punishment fitting the crime.
Could you imagine a judge committing a criminal to this prison? How embarrassing would that be for them to have on public record that they didn’t go to regular prison, but rather the one for dumb criminals instead. How long would these prisoners have to stay in there? It would be a laugh just to see what the prisoners are in there for.
Reference material for this article can be found at:
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/charged-31962-driving-florida.html
I think I saw the video of the drunk man on the riding lawn mower, but never mind that. Good article.