By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Police credited one of Salina's new Flock vehicle tag/traffic cameras for helping them arrest a Wyoming man with a stolen U-Haul Saturday morning.
At approximately 9:30 a.m. Saturday, one of the new Flock cameras got a hit on a stolen U-Haul out of Wyoming and sent the alert to all Salina police personnel who were logged into the reader system, Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester said this morning.
Forrester said that the department's Flock system interfaces with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), so that if one of the department's cameras gets a hit on a vehicle wanted for a crime that has been input into NCIC, that information is sent out to all Salina Police Department personnel who are logged into the Flock system.
An officer near the intersection of N. Broadway Boulevard and University Place located the vehicle and stopped the driver, who was identified as Michael Keck, 53, of Cheyenne, Wyo. During the stop, it was determined that Keck had an active felony warrant for burglary out of Laramie County, Wyo.
Forrester said that while Keck was in custody, he had a medical episode and was transported to Salina Regional Health Center. While Keck was in the emergency room, the officer with him stepped out of the room. Forrester said Keck then allegedly removed medical apparatus connections and fled out a back door of the emergency room.
Keck eventually was located in a restroom inside the hospital.
Forrester said that a search warrant executed on the U-Haul found a Smith & Wesson .22 caliber pistol with the serial number removed. Additionally, some marijuana and some psilocybin mushrooms also were located in the U-Haul.
Keck was arrested on the following requested charges, Forrester said.
●Aggravated attempted escape from custody
●Defacing a firearm
●Possession of marijuana
●Possession of a hallucinogen
●Possession of drug paraphernalia