According to the police report, Goodwin, 27, was placed in the back seat of a Belton police car and managed to pull his handcuffed wrists in front of him.
He tore the bar off a squad car window before police attempted to secure him outside the car. He took off. A foot pursuit ensued for 150 yards before he was once again secured and placed in the squad car.
Goodwin, a suspect in the theft of $75,000 worth of equipment and machines from the Moody High School agriculture shop over the weekend, was charged Monday with criminal mischief, unlawful carrying of a weapon, resisting arrest and giving false identification. He is being held at the Bell County Jail possibly facing additional charges.
The McLennan County Sheriff’s office received several phone call tips following the arrest of Goodwin and was able to recover nearly 90 percent of the stolen property as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We have recovered property, but we still have work to do,” Lt. Clay Perry with the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office said.
Moody Independent School District officials said they found a damaged door at the Moody High School ag shop at 7 a.m. on Saturday. The door revealed a missing 2006 Chevrolet Duramax 3500 four-door truck, welder and frozen meat, which was kept in the shop’s freezer. The agriculture booster checkbook and the agriculture teacher’s personal checkbook were also stolen.
“We figured he used a lead pipe to break down the door,” Clayton Brantley, director of operations with the Moody school district, said. “We found the lead pipe in the trash can next to the door.”
Brantley said some plywood on the floor was stepped on and footprints from the intruders were visible for police.
Perry said he received several phone calls from residents who assisted with the investigation and it is possible more than one person were involved in the burglary.
“We noticed that everything was gone,” Allen Law, Moody school superintendent, said. “The office door was broken into and beat up.”
Police said Goodwin used the stolen checkbooks to pass bad checks in Bell County. The forged checks assisted police in the apprehension of Goodwin, who police said used the checks at the Belton Wal-Mart on Sunday evening.
“With the help of Wal-Mart in Belton, who already put the word out on the [forged] checks, he was arrested,” Law said.
Police officials said the stolen Chevrolet truck was found in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Belton police impounded the vehicle and it will be returned to Moody High School after the investigation is complete.
Brantley said Goodwin was in the process of buying a $2,100 plasma TV from the Belton Wal-Mart Sunday night, when employees notified the local police.
Judge Donald Engleking, who arraigned Goodwin, said a large folding knife was also found on Goodwin at the time of the arrest.
Belton Police Cmdr. Michael Rhoden said damage to the Belton squad car incurred during Goodwin’s attempt to flee is estimated at $50 to $500, but the forgery charge will be have harsher consequences.
“If you forge a dollar or a hundred thousand dollars, the offense is the same,” Rhoden said.
The McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, Bell County Sheriff’s Office and the Belton Police Department are continuing their investigations. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the police department.
ccarlisle@temple-telegram.com
