Then again, he's from New Jersey.
Posted on 03/29/2008 3:12:25 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3
He lived in a $500,000 house, drove a Cadillac Escalade SUV, and talked about his fraternity brothers. But Johnny Lee Reed IV felt the world closing in on him. Worried and increasingly desperate, Reed had spent days trying to convince authorities that someone was bugging his car, his e-mail and his phones, and that his family was in danger.
On Thursday, Reed's dramatic standoff shut down the Walt Whitman Bridge for 31/2 hours, snarling evening rush-hour traffic throughout the region.
Ultimately, one of the very authorities Reed had petitioned talked him away from the middle of the 3,500-foot span.
Yesterday, Reed, 35, of Sicklerville, was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and faced charges of criminal restraint, aggravated assault, and terroristic threats for threatening to blow up the Walt Whitman.
He was being held on $70,000 bail while under psychiatric observation at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden.
His girlfriend, Monica Hayman, 31, of the same address, was also being giving a psychiatric evaluation and was being held on $65,000 bail on charges of obstruction, resisting arrest, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and conspiracy to criminal restraint.
Hayman and the couple's 1-year-old son were in the SUV with Reed during the standoff. Authorities say Hayman was not being held against her will.
The boy was taken to Cooper University Hospital after the incident and found to be in "very, very good condition," authorities said. He was in the custody of his maternal grandmother yesterday, officials said.
Armed with a fake gun and a baseball bat, Reed led New Jersey state police on an eight-mile pursuit that began about 4:30 p.m. after they attempted to stop him for speeding in the northbound lanes of Route 42 in Gloucester Township.
Officers called off the chase when Reed's driving became erratic, but Reed drove on, finally stopping on the Walt Whitman and exiting the SUV. He swung his bat at passing vehicles with one arm and held his little boy, Johnny Lee Reed V, with the other. Police shut the bridge to traffic after Reed struck two cars.
The couple surrendered after negotiators signed a contract guaranteeing the toddler's safety.
Along with himself and his family in the white Escalade, which was not stolen or the subject of a search, police said, Reed had stashed a small Rottweiler and a "very realistic" airsoft pellet gun.
"It looked like a Sig Sauer," Sgt. Stephen Jones, state police spokesman, said of the gun. "Just like the ones we carry."
After surrendering, Reed told agents that he wanted to speak with Michelle Obama, wife of the presidential candidate, to air his grievances. The federal government was after him and his family, he said.
As reporters gathered in a nearby room for a news conference at the state police barracks in Bellmawr, Reed was heard rambling to himself in a loud voice, talking about a conspiracy against him, his bad credit, his father who played pro football.
He had been voicing concerns about his family's welfare for at least four days.
On Easter, Reed went to the Bellmawr barracks and expressed concern for the safety of his son, authorities said. His contentions were vague, said police, who referred him to the Winslow Township police.
Reed was composed at the time, police said.
State police have a clear policy on what to do if someone's behavior is dangerous, Jones said.
"It's pretty common for us to refer people to a crisis center and have them evaluated," he said. "We get calls for that as well. If we feel that they're going to be a danger to themselves or anybody else, we'll have them go for a mental-health screening."
When the situation warrants, an officer will transport someone to a mental-health facility, Jones said.
It appears that Reed's conduct on Sunday did not warrant a referral.
Winslow Police Lt. David Deaner said Reed has had contact with the police several times in the last year, all for minor incidents. He was stopped for a speeding violation, and he made five 911 calls and hung up.
On Sunday afternoon, apparently after he visited state police, Reed showed up at the Winslow station house on Route 73.
"He came in here to report that his house, phone lines, computer and vehicle were bugged," Deaner said. "There wasn't really anything to do. We took the report and that was it."
On Tuesday, Reed called The Inquirer's South Jersey bureau and told an editor that his family was being threatened. He was desperate, he said.
Reed said that he had spent all of Sunday contacting law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, but that none would help him. His fearful family was with him in the car as he drove from police station to police station.
He was vague in his description of the threats, but clearly felt danger closing in. His phone and e-mail accounts had been "compromised," he said. He had received an ominous e-mail from a "Nigerian prince," he said, apparently unaware of the online fund-transfer scams that have spanned the globe.
Articulate and polite, Reed referred to a fraternity brother he said he contacted for help but who he now believed was conspiring against him.
Public records searches show Reed has moved frequently, spending time in Virginia, Texas, North Jersey, Maple Shade, Pennsauken and Pine Hill before moving to Sicklerville. Hayman previously lived in Newfield and Willingboro.
In January 2007, the couple purchased their home on Twisting Lane, a pretty block in a modern development, for $504,000, property records show.
Yesterday, the neighborhood was quiet. A car was parked in the driveway of the couple's stately brick home with black shutters, and the lawn was immaculately manicured. A wood-and-plastic play structure stood in the backyard.
No one answered the door. It remains unclear what happened there in the span of four days to turn a worried but calm father into a man swinging wildly at thin air.
Then again, he's from New Jersey.
oy
Home Grown Terrorist?
Adderal/amphetamines can make you dangerously paranoid. They are being dispensed like candy to the “Adult ADHD” population. They are prescribed to middle aged depression cases too. Depressed and on speed is no way to go thru life.
Home grown nutter
Future chairman of the DNC?
Sounds like a fairly classic case of Schizophrenia, actually. Tragic. Hopefully can be helped with medication.
And technically, your house/phone/internet connection/and On Star equipped Escalade are all bugged to some extent. He’s correct actually. That shouldn’t make him go paranoid crazy however. That’s the prescriptions speaking.
I wonder why he didn't want to talk to Obama himself after all, he is the man of hope and christ like.
Michelle can't do any miracles like Obama
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step outta line, the men come, and take you away
Phophetic words, it would seem. Prayers for the family. I hope whatever put him in the state of mind to be triggered by a Nigerian scam isn't hereditary.
After surrendering, Reed told agents that he wanted to speak with Michelle Obama, wife of the presidential candidate, to air his grievances.
Yep. He’s about the right age for it to become florid...and if he’s stressed in any way, it can exacerbate.
Psychiatric medication unsupervised most likely made him paranoid schyzophrenic.
Prophetic, that is. My apologies to Buffalo Springfield.
Y'can't make this stuff up, folks.
Meth man.
Never trust people with roman numerals in their names. Unfortunately he’s already screwed his kid for life by continuing this trend.
Sounds like schizphrenia..
FWIW, never express your psychotic behavior on a sunday. If it’s help or a referal for help you’re seeking, you’re not going to get it. Come back on Monday when we have clerical staff for such things.
People become paranoid schizophrenics in the absence of medication.
With his wife also undergoing eval they were doing something together. I hope they get help.
It appears Schizophrenia has a large hereditary componenent, but in very complex ways.
Let me guess.....You’re a psychologist?
You nailed it.
The man had 8 televisions so he could tune in all the broadcast stations then in the DC area.
He didn't have any other furniture but he was well-connected.
One day "they" picked him up and took him back for another visit ~ few weeks later a young lady freshly out of a state institution moved into the apartment.
By then the TV sets were gone.
Apparantly someone at a state mental institution thought it would be a good idea to rent some apartments as "half way" houses for these folks.
Back then there were few "magic cures" so these folks were going nekkid as far as prescriptions were concerned ~ they were still schizophrenic ~
The psychatric profession may have been of use at one time or another or to those with endless wealth, but in today's HMO society, mental health services are a dangerous joke.
No doubt the doctors, and your relatives, are conspiring against your sense of justice.
He has the lack of moral standards to be a democrat politician. He shacks up and has at least one illegitimate child.
The headline lead me to believe the guy stopped traffic on the bridge because he thought the bridge was about to collapse.
Did I miss the part of the article where it said he was on Adderall?
Well if this tactic works I am gonna block a bridge!
“After surrendering, Reed told agents that he wanted to speak with Michelle Obama, wife of the presidential candidate, to air his grievances.”
ROTFL!!!!
I guess Michelle said something about America that made him think the two of them were in the same boat. LOL ;-p
I've got a few relatives who range from being dead at young ages or drug rittled adults in deteriorating condition because someone who counsels them for ten minutes every two months and a psychiatrist who sees them for ten minutes every six months. They are freakin insane and get worse every day with all the drugs they score.
Adderal to make them feel enthusiastic. Clonezapam to help them come down off the adderal so they can sleep once in a while. Prozac to conquer depression. Xanax to crush those panic attacks. Seroquel to make them drag one foot and stick their tougne out the side of the mouth. It in itself is insane.
Just wait.....It’ll surface sooner or later.
What did the nut do to make money to pay for all this stuff????
He probably became mildly paranoid of his meds, flushed them, and then began his journey to true lunatic-ville, population undefined.
I recall something similar happening to the man who mutilated himself after abruptly stopping his medication. He thought the pills contained tracking devices, and, when off them, became convinced that there was a transmitter in his nuts communicating with aliens and the CIA. So off came the testicles. Can’t be too safe!
It sounds like he was seriously paranoid. I wish I had a nickel for every one of those “Nigerian Prince” e-mails we had received offering us obscene millions if we would just get back in touch with them. Oh, and by the way, they’re getting a bit more creative in their game, so be careful. -Someone somewhere out west also wormed their way into our e-mail, co-opted it, shut us out of it and then proceeded to do some ebay business using our ebay account as well.
I heard some information that the woman in this area who shot her husband had bitten at these wild “Nigerian Prince” e-mails and got herself into a mess and that they had been arguing about that before she killed him. Don’t know if it’s really true or not - a lot of mystery surrounding this case and many people around here think she got away with murder, doubt that he was quite like she described him.
Are you a pharmacist???
You may be right, but it was the dark side trying to ultimately kill him. He is a good guy on drugs trying to keep innocent people away from his demons.
When I feel a little anxious and shut down an interstate bridge system, I think I’ll ask for Sandra Bernhardt. That way I’m sure someone will feel sorry for me and toss me over the side.
All for the want of some tin foil.
Some woman called from her car on the Kennedy expressway in Chicago and threatened to shot herself. They stopped traffic in both directions for 4 hours, the tie up took another 6 to unwind. After a couple of hours people were calling in to the talk radio stations volunteering to shot her themselves.....
All it demonstrates is that someone was administered a dopamine antagonist ~ usually for a pretty doggone obvious psychiatric disorder.
I presume these are all blood relatives to each other. Just think back to the good old days before these drugs were available ~ these guys usually, if they were very lucky, got chained up in the family attic.
I’ve had employees spouses call me at all hours during work, wondering who was out to take their spouse away or why our company was spying on them. They were on a mix of Meth and Xanex. It is a very powerful thing to witness.
Here, take these pills and fill out your patient survey satisfaction form from your HMO/PPO. Go away now.
The case I mentioned is/was a perfectly normal person who had a weakness for street drugs in the early 80’s and gave it up. She had a family and successful career but convinced her doctor that an eating disorder needed medication. From there it just got worse with every prescription she could layer on. Once a doctor/therapist catches on they dump her to another doctor/therapist. If they cut her off she doctor shops.
Did she try alcoholism yet?
Well, he is right:
His SUV is bugged (onstar)
His telephone and cel phone are bugged (FISA)
His computer is bugged (warrantless submission of browsing history to FBI)
But hey, this is America
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