by Law Officer
LEEDS, Ala. – An Alabama man is in custody after he crashed his car Thursday evening, stripped naked and ran into Bass Pro Shops, before jumping into the massive aquarium inside the business to go skinny dipping, officials confirmed.
George Owens, 42, apparently jumped into the water tank twice — once before the officers got there and then right after they arrived just for good measure, reported Outkick.
Prior to the bizarre incident inside the store, Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said the 42-year-old man was reported to be acting erratically and drove a vehicle into a pole in the store parking lot. Once he crashed his car, the man exited his automobile, stripped naked and ran through the business before jumping into the aquarium, AL.com reported.
According to the news outlet, bystanders recorded the man doing a cannonball into the aquarium, while later standing in nothing but his birthday suit beneath the waterfall.
As two police officers approached the skinny-dipping man in the water, he exited the aquarium, yelled something to the officers and then dove back into the water.
Officers managed to handcuff the slippery suspect when he jumped out of the aquarium a final time, and landed on the concrete floor below, smacking his head in the process and likely suffering a concussion due to his incoherent condition.
However, after becoming more alert, Owens struggled with officers as they placed him in handcuffs. Someone provided a blanket to cover the man as police then walked him out of the store. He was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and then booked at the St. Clair County Jail, AL.com reported.
In a social media post from January 2022, Bass Pro Shops wrote, “Our aquariums are the perfect place to pass the time waiting for warmer days. See you soon!”
Somehow, we don't think this man's antics are what they had in mind.
Jail records show Owens was booked on charges that include public lewdness, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer, two counts of first-degree criminal mischief, and two counts of reckless endangerment.
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