Man Arrested After Trying to Get a Ride with a Policeman

LONGVIEW – Arthur Ray Thompson, 46, of Dallas, is accused of throwing a two-by-four at a tractor-trailer’s windshield on Interstate Highway 20 in Gregg County. The Longvew News Journal reports Thompson was arrested Thursday just after noon at mile marker 583 on the eastbound side of I-20. A witness told a sheriff’s deputy he saw Thompson throw the six foot long piece of wood at the truck. Thompson is said to have told the sergeant he “threw the object intentionally so the police would get called, and the police could give him a courtesy ride to the next county line.” Thompson has been charged with criminal mischief causing damage between $750 and $2,500 and deadly conduct. He remains in the Gregg County Jail.