A Schuylkill County man wanted on outstanding warrants fled a Schuylkill Haven traffic stop and was subdued with a Taser, and the woman riding with him allegedly bit a bystander who stepped in to help officers take her into custody, police say.
Gary Thompson, 48, and Natasha Ervin Lyons, 43, both of Schuylkill Haven, were each jailed at Schuylkill County Prison, unable to post $50,000 bail, following their July 17 arrests.
A Schuylkill Haven Borough police officer was parked in the 300 block of Center Ave. (Route 61) shortly after 10 p.m. when he spotted a silver Nissan Maxima with dark window tint and non-working license plate lights. The officer followed the car and tried to stop it, and the Maxima pulled into a rear parking lot behind a business on E. Main St.
Thompson, who was driving, stepped out of the car and ran west on E. Main St. after refusing commands to stay in the vehicle, police say. The officer caught up to him and brought him down with a Taser. Officers requested medical help because of Thompson’s elevated heart rate, police say. He was checked by EMS, cleared, and taken to Lehigh Valley-East in Pottsville for further evaluation at his request.
After being read his rights, Thompson told police he was aware of the warrants and that officers were looking for him, but that he did not want to turn himself in, police say. He told police he needed to keep working to afford a private attorney to fight his other case and that he had been released from state prison not long ago and did not want to go back, according to police.
Thompson was wanted on two active warrants at the time of the stop, police say: a Bucks County parole violation warrant tied to an underlying strangulation offense, and a Montgomery County probation violation warrant tied to an underlying charge of failing to verify his address and be photographed as required under Pennsylvania’s sex offender registration laws. Police say a certified driving history from PennDOT showed Thompson was driving on a suspended license.
Thompson’s sex offender registration stems from a 2001 Broward County, Florida, conviction for lewd assault or sexual battery on a victim under 16, according to Florida’s Sexual Offender/Predator registry. He has been registered in Pennsylvania as an out-of-state offender since December 2005, Pennsylvania State Police records show.
Ervin Lyons, a passenger in the Maxima, had moved the car from the traffic stop to nearby St. John St., across from where Thompson was being held, police say. She approached the officer and demanded her car keys from Thompson, refusing repeated instructions to stay back, according to police. An officer told her she needed to be interviewed about hindering Thompson’s apprehension in connection with his warrants and that she could be arrested, police say.
When the officer moved to take her into custody, Ervin Lyons resisted, tensing her arms, pulling away and twisting her body to avoid being handcuffed, police say. A bystander – a retired correctional officer – stopped to help officers gain control of her, and Ervin Lyons bit him twice near his right armpit, drawing blood and leaving red scarring and an outline of teeth marks, according to police. The man was treated at a hospital, police say. A parked truck was scratched during the struggle, according to police.
Ervin Lyons told police she was aware of Thompson’s warrants but did not know their current status because he had been away from her home for about three weeks, police say.
Thompson is charged with fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, two counts of resisting arrest, and driving with a suspended license. Ervin Lyons is charged with aggravated assault, hindering apprehension, obstructing the administration of law, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief.
The Schuylkill Haven arrest adds to Thompson’s active case load. In Pottsville, Thompson is charged with patronizing a prostitute. In that case, police say Thompson offered to pay a woman’s phone bill in exchange for sex and later gave her a $900 check that he failed to endorse. That case remains pending, with a preliminary hearing upcoming.
Both Thompson and Ervin Lyons were arraigned July 18 before Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker. Preliminary hearings for both are scheduled for Aug. 4 before Judge Casimir Kosciolek.
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