I’ve covered many stories over the years, and as many of you know the majority of my stories are tragic in nature, hence my nickname, “Murder and Mayhem.” With that being said, I’ve covered my fair share of stories which made me laugh out loud or just shake my head in disbelief. So you don’t walk away thinking Levine is all about reporting on the tragic side of life I’d like to share a few that I actually found funny, bizarre or just plain hard to wrap my head around.

The first one which comes to mind was a story which came over my police scanner years ago. It left an impression on me. It involved a police chase which began in Glynn County on Interstate 95. While chases in themselves are not always memorable, this one was because as the suspect refused to stop he continued to have a caravan from various counties join in. The suspect was apparently high on something and refused to stop, and appeared to be on a mission. When the man noticed he was being followed by a line of cars with flashing lights, he called the 911 dispatcher in McIntosh Country and told her to thank the officers for the police escort to Washington D.C. where he was headed to visit President Obama. Needless to say he didn’t make it to Washington; Liberty County deputies stopped him after deploying spike strips.

Another memorable story may lead some of you to think I’m one donut short of a dozen because I find humor in it. It started out innocently enough with a man visiting Liberty County’s east end. He was admiring the coastline one late afternoon. He was sitting in his vehicle with his windows open on a dock just chilling. Suddenly, a large flying insect decided to chill with the man. The insect, not one to lounge quietly, began to fly around inside the vehicle panicking the man who flailed about in an attempt to get it out of the vehicle. He had the car in drive and drove off a dock into the water. Don’t worry, he was rescued. I don’t think his insurance company believed his story; they called me to see if I had photos or video of the scene.

One story that made me shake my head in disbelief involved a would-be robber who targeted the owner of a local Asian restaurant in Hinesville. The robber thought he was going to walk away with some serious cash when he followed the owner and his family home. I don’t recall all the details, but somehow the robber made his way into the home with what appeared to be a handgun. The robber demanded the occupants of the home to fork over the cash they had brought home with them. Well, somehow the tables got turned and the robber was overpowered when the family as a group got the best of him. He was beaten and praying for his life. At one point one of the women went to the backyard and got a shovel and just as she was ready to strike the whimpering robber with it the police arrived and stopped her. The robber thanked the officers for showing up in time.

Lewis Levine

Courier correspondent