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• Larry Lee Harris, 66, of Willcox, Arizona, was arrested after chasing a caravan of three National Guard vans carrying COVID-19 vaccines out of a truck stop in Lubbock, Texas, on March 22 and trying repeatedly to run the vans off the road, police said.
WAFB-TV reported Harris finally turned his vehicle into oncoming traffic and stopped the vans, then allegedly pointed a gun at a guardsman, identified himself as a detective and insisted on searching the vehicles.
He told Idalou police, who found a .45-caliber pistol and loaded magazines in his possession, that he was looking for a kidnapped woman and child.
"Mr. Harris appeared to be mentally disturbed," Idalou Police Chief Eric Williams said.
All 11 unarmed uniformed guardsmen escaped unharmed. [WAFB-TV, 3/22/2021]
• On March 17, police at the Charleston, South Carolina, airport rushed to meet United Airlines Flight 728 in response to a report that someone's ear had been bitten off on the plane, which had been diverted there from its flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Miami, The State reported.
Passenger John Yurkovich Jr., 45, of New Jersey, had become "agitated" and "restless" after making a trip to the restroom, police said, then "began to scream and thrash around," punching his seatmate and apparently biting the man's ear, which later required seven stitches, an FBI report said.
A doctor on board injected Benadryl into Yurkovich's buttocks to help subdue him, and others bound him with zip ties and a belt.
Authorities said they found 1.5 grams of suspected meth in Yurkovich's pocket; he was arrested and faces state charges of possession as well as federal charges of assault. [The State, 3/19/2021]