Man's ride on roof ends in woman's arrest

An argument with her boyfriend prompts domestic battery and cocaine charges.

By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer
Published August 19, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Michelle Lorene Luther wasn't sitting in the Pasco County jail on Saturday just because she took her boyfriend for a ride.

It's where he rode, police say.

On top of her car.

"The caller said they saw a man on the roof screaming for the driver to stop," said New Port Richey police Assistant Chief Darryl Garman.

That's why Luther, 40, of 5920 Delaware Ave., was arrested Friday night on charges of aggravated domestic battery, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

That's how the story ended. How it began, according to police, was when Luther pulled up to the home she shared with boyfriend Jamison Klod, 36.

It was 9:47 p.m. She had been drinking, police say. The two argued. They have their disagreements about what happened next, too.

The boyfriend said she ran him over, throwing him onto the roof of her convertible Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder.

The girlfriend said she was trying to leave the driveway, according to Garman, but he was blocking her way when she hit him.

Another issue, police say, was that she never stopped.

The victim was literally sitting on top of the roof of her car, Garman said, holding on with both hands.

He punched in the driver's side window to try to get her to stop.

By the time police arrived, the couple and her car were back at the home. Luther had fled to a neighbor's house. Klod was standing by her car, his hand bleeding, the roof caved in.

No other injuries were reported. The boyfriend refused medical help.

The girlfriend told police "she hit her boyfriend with her car because she was mad at him," according to an arrest report.

Luther did not go quietly. She was "screaming, crying, cursing," Garman said. The arresting officer wrote he could not understand what she was saying.

Police say they also found a glass pipe and a small piece of crack cocaine in her car, which was impounded.

She was being held in the county jail in Land O'Lakes in lieu of $6,250 bail.

[Last modified August 18, 2007, 21:01:30]