San Antonio RW 151 Thread
Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 4:37 pm
'Mad Max' fans run afoul of the SAPD [/font]
Web Posted: 04/18/2005 12:00 AM CDT[/font]
Mariano Castillo
Express-News Staff Writer[/font]
Spooked motorists called police to report a scene so bizarre it could've come from a movie: a convoy of armed men apparently trying to hijack a tanker truck.
In fact, it did come from a movie.
"Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior," to be exact.
Eleven "Mad Max" movie buffs were arrested and charged Saturday afternoon with obstruction of a highway during their theatrical convoy from Boerne to the Alamo Draft House in San Antonio for a movie marathon.
Police received several calls from motorists near U.S. 151 and Loop 410 who reported a "militia" armed with machine guns surrounding a tanker truck, a police report states.
The guns were fake and the tanker truck was part of the act, but two of the collared movie buffs were also charged with possession of prohibited knives.
Someone in the group told police that they were filming a documentary. But instead of sympathy, they got a citation for filming without a permit.
One of the organizers of the event, Chris Fenner, said the arrests were unfair to the group.
Fenner said he was riding a motorcycle behind the tanker truck, and the rest of the convoy was lined up behind him, not speeding or weaving in traffic.
Fenner had even e-mailed police spokesman Gabe Trevino to give the Police Department a heads-up on the event and invite officers to attend.
Along the route to the theater, Fenner had to pull over for a little while, and he arrived at the Alamo Draft House last, only to see a group of police cars there.
"I thought, wow, what a great turnout by the San Antonio police," Fenner said.
Some cops found the situation humorous, but some others were quite agitated and made the arrests, said Fenner, who was confounded that anyone would have confused the costumed crew for a real threat.
"I honestly don't know how that could be, because 'Road Warrior' was so over the top," he said.
About 25 people participated in the convoy, some from across the country, and more than twice that number were expected to attend the movie marathon.
Most were die-hard "Mad Max" fans, like Fenner.
He remembers watching the first "Mad Max" with his father and the second on a date with the woman who would be his future bride.
"I really like cars and motorcycles, and they're great car and motorcycle movies," he said.
The convoy was part of an event dubbed "Road War 151," which was to culminate with the movie marathon.
The marathon was canceled after the arrests.
According to the Web site roadwarusa.com, actor Vernon Wells, who portrayed the character "Wez," was to appear at the marathon.
Of those arrested, Jeffrey Kuykendall, 25, was charged with three counts of obstruction of a highway and possession of a prohibited knife. William Rodriguez, 20, faced one count each.
The others, charged with single counts of obstruction were Fenner, 42; Sean Richmond, 20; Joseph Goss, 45; Kevin Wright, 35; Robert Castro, 35; Gary Minter, 43; Karol Bactoszynski, 29; Christopher Medellin, 35; and Steven Shelton, 58.
[email protected]
Web Posted: 04/18/2005 12:00 AM CDT[/font]
Mariano Castillo
Express-News Staff Writer[/font]
Spooked motorists called police to report a scene so bizarre it could've come from a movie: a convoy of armed men apparently trying to hijack a tanker truck.
In fact, it did come from a movie.
"Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior," to be exact.
Eleven "Mad Max" movie buffs were arrested and charged Saturday afternoon with obstruction of a highway during their theatrical convoy from Boerne to the Alamo Draft House in San Antonio for a movie marathon.
Police received several calls from motorists near U.S. 151 and Loop 410 who reported a "militia" armed with machine guns surrounding a tanker truck, a police report states.
The guns were fake and the tanker truck was part of the act, but two of the collared movie buffs were also charged with possession of prohibited knives.
Someone in the group told police that they were filming a documentary. But instead of sympathy, they got a citation for filming without a permit.
One of the organizers of the event, Chris Fenner, said the arrests were unfair to the group.
Fenner said he was riding a motorcycle behind the tanker truck, and the rest of the convoy was lined up behind him, not speeding or weaving in traffic.
Fenner had even e-mailed police spokesman Gabe Trevino to give the Police Department a heads-up on the event and invite officers to attend.
Along the route to the theater, Fenner had to pull over for a little while, and he arrived at the Alamo Draft House last, only to see a group of police cars there.
"I thought, wow, what a great turnout by the San Antonio police," Fenner said.
Some cops found the situation humorous, but some others were quite agitated and made the arrests, said Fenner, who was confounded that anyone would have confused the costumed crew for a real threat.
"I honestly don't know how that could be, because 'Road Warrior' was so over the top," he said.
About 25 people participated in the convoy, some from across the country, and more than twice that number were expected to attend the movie marathon.
Most were die-hard "Mad Max" fans, like Fenner.
He remembers watching the first "Mad Max" with his father and the second on a date with the woman who would be his future bride.
"I really like cars and motorcycles, and they're great car and motorcycle movies," he said.
The convoy was part of an event dubbed "Road War 151," which was to culminate with the movie marathon.
The marathon was canceled after the arrests.
According to the Web site roadwarusa.com, actor Vernon Wells, who portrayed the character "Wez," was to appear at the marathon.
Of those arrested, Jeffrey Kuykendall, 25, was charged with three counts of obstruction of a highway and possession of a prohibited knife. William Rodriguez, 20, faced one count each.
The others, charged with single counts of obstruction were Fenner, 42; Sean Richmond, 20; Joseph Goss, 45; Kevin Wright, 35; Robert Castro, 35; Gary Minter, 43; Karol Bactoszynski, 29; Christopher Medellin, 35; and Steven Shelton, 58.
[email protected]
