A Harrison man has learned just because Gomer Pyle was able to make a citizen’s arrest on the Andy Griffith Show, it doesn’t always work in real life. The man tried to arrest another man as a theft suspect and marched him to the Harrison Police Department, and both wound up being taken into custody. According to the Harrison Daily Times, 59-year-old Scott Loveless went to the station around 2:45 Sunday afternoon escorting 41-year-old Greg Fritcher. Loveless reportedly said he had a loaded gun and suspected Fritcher of theft.
Harrison Police Chief Paul Woodruff says dispatch notified officers and they went to the lobby of the station where one officer secured the handgun. Loveless told officers he suspected Fritcher of stealing collectible coins. Loveless said he loaded a pistol and instructed Fritcher to start walking from a residence to the nearby police station and if he tried to run, he would be shot.
An officer reportedly could smell intoxicants on Loveless’ breath, and a breath test showed him at the legal limit for driving while intoxicated. Officers also found two narcotic pills in his pocket. Loveless claimed the pills were from a prescription, but they were not in the bottle. He was booked into the Boone County Jail for false imprisonment, terroristic threatening, public intoxication and possession of a controlled substance. He was released a few hours later after posting $25,000 bond.
Fritcher was turned over to a Boone County deputy on an alias bench warrant. Records in the Boone County Circuit Clerk’s Office show he was charged in February with forgery and theft of property in a case dating back to 2006. Fritcher is accused of stealing a check, forging it and receiving $650.
Fritcher had pleaded not guilty to his charges and was free on bond, but he didn’t appear in court as he was scheduled to September 14th leading Judge Gordon Webb to issue a warrant for his arrest. Fritcher remains in the Boone County Jail on the warrant with no bond amount shown.
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