FREMONT, Ohio — from www.thenes-messenger. – Police trying to arrest a man on pornography charges found themselves chasing a man who carried a shotgun and threatened suicide.
Donald Macleod, 46, was arraigned in Clyde County Court on Friday on a charge of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. His bail was set at $250,000, and he has a hearing set for Nov. 12.
Sandusky County Sheriff’s detectives say Macleod was secretly taking nude photos of a teenage juvenile who was using their in-home tanning bed and saving the photos to his computer in the basement. Mcleod allegedly shot the computer with a shotgun in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Macleod was arrested by sheriff’s detectives after he agreed to meet them at the Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area off U.S. 6 in Townsend Township around 3 p.m. Thursday after two hours on the run.
Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Bruce Hirt said deputies received a call of a domestic disturbance around 1 p.m. Thursday at a rural Clyde home off Sandusky County Road 175.
Macleod fled in a gold Ford Ranger with a Remington 12-gauge shotgun and threatened to harm himself. Meanwhile, Sheriff’s Detective Capt. James Consolo said the family was parked at the Fraternal Order of Eagles on Main Street as the incident unfolded.
Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer said an alert was sent out to all area law enforcement to be on the lookout, and commended area law enforcement for their assistance.
“This easily could have escalated,” Overmyer said. “Communication can go a long way. It was necessary to try and locate the man as soon as possible. When you’re lacking manpower, it’s appreciated when other agencies help out.”
However, the incident lead to Clyde-Green Springs Schools to be on lockdown for a little more than an hour until the incident was resolved.
Superintendent Gregg Elchert said they went to a districtwide phase one lockdown around 1:30 p.m. for a “suspicious subject.”
Elchert said level one is when they lock all external doors and bring in elementary students who may be outside.
“Everything was fine,” Elchert said. “It’s a precautionary measure. … We used our instant alert message to the parents.”
The lockdown was canceled and students were released from schools on schedule.
Macleod has no criminal history, Hirt said. No one else was harmed or threatened during the incident.