Nude man crashes car into MC jail, throws rubber snakes

MARTIN COUNTY ? A partially naked man is accused of intentionally crashing a vehicle into the front entrance of the Martin County Jail and throwing two rubber snakes along with cell phones, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

“The suspect drove from the parking lot, up the walkway then crashed through the glass lobby doors,” the Sheriff’s Office stated in a 10:29 p.m. Monday social media post. “He was not able to breach the inner steel security doors.”

The man, identified as Joseph Leedy, 40, faces at least four counts of aggravated assault on deputies, sheriff's Chief Deputy John Budensiek said Tuesday.

The jail is in the 800 block of Southeast Monterey Road, just west of U.S. 1 and on the opposite side of the parking lot of the main Sheriff’s Office complex.

Standing outside the jail Tuesday morning with the mended lobby doors to his back, Budensiek said the incident happened about 9:55 p.m. Monday when Leedy drove into “what was double plate glass doors behind me into our jail lobby.”

Leedy, wearing only a ladies top, confronted correctional officials inside.

“He at that point threw two rubber snakes and multiple cell phones into the lobby … and then started pouring motor oil all over his vehicle and then the floor where he was threatening to light the car, himself on fire,” Budensiek said.

Road patrol deputies arrived, and Leedy reportedly didn’t listen to commands. He was tased and taken into custody.

“It took them a while to calm him down,” Budensiek said. “He was extremely amped up.”

Martin County Fire Rescue officials treated Leedy, giving him doses of ketamine to sedate him, but it apparently didn’t work, Budensiek said. He was taken to a local hospital where additional medicine was given.

Budensiek said Leedy was “borderline incoherent” and made a number of statements over several hours.

“He was emphatic that he hated Donald Trump. He did not make direct threats to him, but he just talked about his hatred for former President Donald Trump,” Budensiek said. “He also kept emphasizing that 'the devil told me to kill as many people as possible'."

Budensiek said at the moment Leedy won’t be held under provisions of the Baker Act in a mental health facility.

“He's been administered drugs to sedate him. So as he comes to we'll evaluate him more, and then see where we go from there,” Budensiek said. “He did not make suicidal statements. He made homicidal statements, but not suicidal statements.”

He said sheriff’s officials will take steps, such as adding protective barriers, to minimize the chances of a car ramming through the jail front doors again.

“Unfortunately, sometimes, we play catch up, and we learn from our mistakes where our vulnerabilities are,” Budensiek said. “So clearly, we have a vulnerability here. But within a short period of time, you'll see this hardened up.”

Pictures posted by the Sheriff’s Office depict shattered glass in the doors, and a backpack with what appears to be a “Girl Power” patch on the roof of the vehicle along with what looks to be a container of Castrol motor oil on the vehicle’s hood.

The incident recalls a December 2015 case in Indian River County in which a man high on a synthetic stimulant rammed a 2002 Toyota into the fence at the Indian River County Jail and became entangled in razor wire when he attempted to scale the fence, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office said at the time.

The man rammed into the front doors of Building C, barely missing a deputy who was outside the jail. The glass on the doors shattered, but the doors held up, an official said at the time.

He drove at a high rate of speed and rammed into the fence outside of building E. With the fence tipping slightly toward the building, he tried to scale it and became stuck.

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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Naked man throws rubber snakes after crashing into Martin County jail