Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Greenwood man after he chased down an area newspaper carrier, struck her car three times and said his intention was to kill her.
James H. Napier, 25, was arrested on charges of operating while intoxicated, possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, criminal recklessness and aggressive driving. The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office will decide what, if any, charges to file.
Napier called 911 about 4:30 a.m. Thursday and told dispatchers he was smoking marijuana in his driveway when the driver of a Toyota Corolla slowed down in front of his house and shot at it, according to a report from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. He heard gunshots, but did not see a gun, he told dispatchers.
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He chased the victim, striking her car with his truck three times, before she pulled into a gas station parking lot and he stopped in the middle of Smith Valley Road to call 911, according to the report. He also told dispatchers if they did not get officers there quickly, he would run her over, the report said.
Deputies arrived and made contact with the victim, who pointed them to Napier’s truck, still parked in the middle of the road. Deputies ordered Napier out of the vehicle, and he complied after multiple requests, according to the report.
He repeated his story to deputies, adding that he was going to kill her, then told them they needed to send medics to his house in the 6100 block of Bluff Acres Drive, Greenwood, due to shots being fired at the house.
Deputies smelled marijuana and searched Napier’s truck, where they found a bag of fresh marijuana, a glass smoking pipe, a metal grinder, rolling papers and a rolling machine, according to the report.
Deputies went to Napier’s house and spoke with another resident, who said she had just woken up and did not hear any gunshots. Deputies did not find any evidence that the house had been shot at, the report said. The sheriff’s office does not believe any of Napier’s accusations about the victim to be true, Sheriff Duane Burgess said.
The victim told deputies she was delivering newspapers when Napier struck her car with his truck as she turned onto Mullinix Road from Bluff Acres Drive. She stopped because she had just been hit, and he struck her again. She drove away, turning west on Smith Valley Road where he struck her a third time before she pulled into the gas station parking lot near Smith Valley and State Road 37, she said.
That’s when Napier called 911, according to the report.
Napier was taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital for a blood draw, then to the Johnson County jail where he is held on $5,200 bond.
