By Diane M. Moore
WASHINGTON COUNTY – A Tennessee man is in custody after fleeing from Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies in Wausau.
On Monday morning, Nov. 15, WCSO received a call referencing suspicious activity in the parking lot of the Rainbow store in Greenhead. When deputies arrive and make contact with the victim she stated she was in the process of purchasing a vehicle from a male subject, but something didn’t seem right with the situation.
Deputies ran a check of the license plate on the vehicle and found it was not registered to that vehicle. The victim said she had recently befriended the male subject who was selling the vehicle and that she had allowed him to stop over at her home located off of Highway 77 near Ben Road.
The victim told WCSO the subject was currently at her home and escorted deputies to the residence where they could contact the male subject.
When WCSO arrived at the home, the man was seen walking behind the residence where he then fled into the wood line behind the home. A positive identification of the subject was made as Melvin Paul Kiser, 42, of Tennessee who was found to have outstanding felony warrants out of his home state.
WCSO contacted Northwest Florida Reception Center K-9 and Holmes Correctional Institution K-9 tracking teams for assistance in the search. A short time later, Kiser was apprehended north of the residence near Barbrich Road.
A motorcycle and a vehicle stolen out of Jackson County were found on the scene.
Kiser was arrested on the felony warrants out of Tennessee.
COLLIN BREAUX