Girlfriend stalker gone wild

The story of poor Tara Sloan is enough to make me never want to date again.

The 29-year-old Cedar Rapids woman was called, e-mailed, text messaged and otherwise harrassed by her ex-boyfriend, Guy F. McDonald of Platte City, Mo., dozens of times between July and September, Cedar Rapids Police investigator Justin DeMoss reported in court documents. Several of the 42-year-old man’s e-mails detailed some of her daily activities, like receiving a massage, visiting a hair salon and having a doctor’s appointment. Two warrants were issued for his arrest, but he never came to Cedar Rapids to have them served on him.

Around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 18, though, McDonald’s harrassment of Sloan took a sinister turn. Police were called to Sloan’s house at 3622 E Ave. NW because he was trying to break down her front door.

Sloan and her boyfriend, Dane Harris, told police they were inside the house when they started hearing the doorknob jiggling. McDonald had a key and unlocked the door, but was stopped by a chain lock. Harris confronted the man with a baseball bat and tackled him in the front yard, holding him there until police arrived.

In McDonald’s car, police found a gun, ammunition, duct tape, a police scanner, flashlights, gloves, a spotting scope, binoculars, computer printouts, a GPS and a digital camera. You can just imagine what he was planning to do. Now THAT’S scary.

Police are examining two flash drives found in the man’s pocket, as well as the camera and his cell phone, for evidence of stalking to see if more charges can be filed.

 

Driver of semi that crashed off I-380 bridge walked away!

 This semi cab crashed off the Interstate 380 northbound bridge over First Avenue W about 3 p.m. Police said the roads were slick from rain and sand. The driver lost control around the curve and rammed through the railing, and the cab fell 40 feet to the ground. Miraculously, the man walked out of the wreckage with minor injuries, but he was still taken to a hospital for observation.

Officials spent the afternoon trying to soak up the diesel fuel that spilled all over the interstate and the grass with kitty litter and picking up random debris. NOTE: That silver barrel-looking object to the right of the crushed truck cab was the fuel tank.

A little less than a year ago, a semi struck a guardrail in nearly the same location but in the southbound lanes. Pieces of the cab fell to the ground, but the truck stayed on the interstate. It was also raining at the time.