Ohio sheriff had warned of man in Ark. shootout

May 22, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

An anti-government Ohio man who had several run-ins with police around the U.S. was identified Friday as one of two people accused of gunning down two officers during a traffic stop in Arkansas.

Arkansas State Police on Friday identified the pair — killed during an exchange of gunfire with law- enforcement officers — as Jerry R. Kane Jr., 45, of Forest, Ohio, and his son, Joseph T. Kane, believed to be 16.

About 90 minutes before the shootout with police, Sgt. Brandon Paudert, 39, and Officer Bill Evans, 38, were killed with AK-47 assault rifles after stopping a minivan on Interstate 40 in West Memphis, Ark., authorities said.

Jerry Kane, who used the Internet to question federal and local governments’ authority over him, made money holding debt-elimination seminars around the country. He had a long history with police and recently complained about being busted at a “Nazi checkpoint” on I-40 near Carrizozo, N.M., where court records show he spent three days in jail before posting a $1,500 bond on charges of driving without a license and concealing his identity.

Clark County, Ohio, Sheriff Gene Kelly told The Associated Press on Friday that he had issued a warning to officers July 21, 2004, about Kane, saying he might be dangerous to law enforcement. Kelly said he based his conclusion on a conversation he had with Kane over a sentence Kane received for some traffic violations.

Kelly said Kane had complained in July 2004 about being sentenced to six days of community service for driving with an expired license plate and no seat belt, saying the judge had tried to “enslave” him. Kelly said Kane added that he was a “free man” and asked for $100,000 per day in gold or silver.

“After listening to this man for almost 30 minutes, I feel that he is expecting and prepared for confrontations with any law- enforcement officer that may come in contact with him,” Kelly wrote in his warning to officers.

Kelly told the AP on Friday that he wrote the warning because he was “very concerned about a potential confrontation and about his resentment of authority.”

On an Internet radio show — hosted on a website that lets amateurs create their own shows and live discussions — Kane expressed outrage about his New Mexico arrest.

“I ran into a Nazi checkpoint in the middle of New Mexico where they were demanding papers or jail,” he said. “That was the option. Either produce your papers or go to jail. So I entered into commerce with them under threat, duress and coercion, and spent 47 hours in there.”

Kane said he planned to file a counterclaim alleging kidnapping and extortion against those involved in his arrest and detention.