Story Archive

Corny Criminal

When police pulled over Daniel Thomas, 19, in Kankakee, Ill., he bolted and ran into a nearby cornfield. After unsuccessfully trying to locate him in the field using dogs and an airplane, they came up with a better strategy. “Let’s find out who the farmer is and see if he’s ready to harvest his field,” said chief deputy Ken McCabe. The farmer, Mark Tanner, was indeed ready and, clad in a bulletproof vest, started up his combine and began harvesting — with two armed officers riding along. After about 90 minutes, Thomas finally ran out of the field, hands up, directly in front of the sheriff’s office. “It was nice of him to run toward the jail,” McCabe said. “Usually, people run from the jail.” Thomas is being held on a parole violation, as well as charges of resisting a peace officer, fleeing, and attempting to elude police. (MS/Kankakee Daily Journal) ...He could have waited until the field was 8x10 feet; then he’d know what his home field would be like for the next few years.