Chased down and handcuffed:Burglary suspect fights with officer inside Hardee’s

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Sheriff’s deputy Bo Ramsey pats down suspected burglar Les Paul Beddingfield after he was captured following a foot pursuit Tuesday afternoon around the Riverfront Park area. (Duane Sherrill photo)

A man faces burglary and assault charges after he allegedly invaded an elderly woman’s home and then brawled with lawmen and led them on a foot pursuit in the Riverfront Park area Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect, Les Paul Dean Beddingfield, 25, is charged with aggravated burglary, theft and assault on an officer.

The charges come after he allegedly entered the Viola Road home of an elderly woman while the victim was asleep. The victim said she awoke to see Beddingfield, who lived near her home, dashing from her residence with her purse under his arm. The purse contained about $50 cash, a cell phone and 10 bottles of medicine.

She contacted lawmen and identified the man who had invaded her home. An all-points bulletin was then issued, giving a detailed description of the suspect. Sheriff’s investigator Jim Hartman received information as to the possible destination of the suspect, who authorities believed would travel to an area near Hardee’s.

Hoping someone had seen the suspect, Hartman entered Hardee’s and was stunned to see Beddingfield sitting at a table there, carrying the cell phone he had stolen only minutes earlier. When asked to accompany the officer outside, Beddingfield reportedly began fighting the officer, first inside the restaurant and then into the parking lot. The suspect then broke loose and began running in the general direction of Riverfront Park.

Minutes later, city and county officers filled the area and began tracking the fugitive. He was soon spotted in the hills above the park and officers gave foot chase. The suspect was captured minutes later.