Man snatches son then steals truck
A local man hallucinating on drugs reportedly stole a vehicle Sunday afternoon and took his 10-month-old son with him on a ride which ended after a chase on the grounds of Arnold Engineering base near Tullahoma.
The suspect, Isaac Shehane, 23, faces federal charges of illegal entry into a governmental facility for speeding past guards at the base entrance and local charges of joy riding. He remains held in Coffee County Jail on the federal charges.
The unusual crime began Sunday afternoon as Shehane was eating lunch with his girlfriend and young son at Wendy?s. According to police reports, Shehane took his son outside the restaurant without explanation and climbed into a truck driven by Boyd Goins who was waiting at the drive-thru window. Goins, who was borrowing the truck from another person at the time, did not know Shehane but asked no questions when the stranger entered his vehicle, possibly assuming Shehane knew the owner of the vehicle.
Goins then proceeded to leave the parking lot with his two new passengers. The mother of the child was stunned to see her boyfriend and son exiting the parking lot in the strange truck and contacted authorities to report their departure.
It was learned at that time Shehane was reportedly a meth user and had been hallucinating, thinking someone was trying to hurt his child.
Minutes after leaving Wendy?s, the group arrived on White Street where Goins exited the vehicle. Shehane then slid behind the wheel of the 1991 Chevy truck and drove away.
A search by lawmen for Shehane, the baby and the truck turned up nothing until officials from AEDC in Tullahoma reported taking the suspect into custody. After leaving McMinnville, Shehane reportedly drove to the federal base, for unknown reasons, and ignored guard personnel when they ordered him to stop at the gate. A chase then ensued inside the base until military police were able to force him to stop.
The child was uninjured and was returned to his mother while Shehane was arrested. Aside from the possibility of his drug-induced hallucinations, authorities are at a loss to explain his unusual actions and as to why he drove to AEDC.
Goins was taken into custody after reporting the stolen vehicle due to outstanding warrants for his arrest on unrelated assault charges.