Railroad track fire leads to adventurous arrest of Duncan man

DUNCAN — A Stephens County man police believed to be on drugs is in jail on $25,000 bond for interfering with the railroad by setting a grass fire.

Police said it took fancy footwork to take him into custody.

Paul Evan Eaton, 56, of Duncan, made his initial appearance Tuesday in Stephens County District Court where he received a felony charge of fourth-degree arson after two or more felony convictions and misdemeanor charges of obstructing police, interfering with the railroad and possession of drug paraphernalia, records indicate. With four prior convictions, he faces between four years to life in prison if convicted of the felony.

Duncan Police Master Officer Kaleb Keplinger stated he was called shortly before 6 p.m. Feb. 13 to a brush fire on the railroad tracks at North 5th Street and Elder Avenue. The officer along with firefighters arrived and the fire was extinguished. A man wearing jeans, an orange shirt and tan jacket was seen leaving the scene and defying orders to stop, the probable cause affidavit states. Following another command to stop, he took off running, according to the officer.

The man, later identified as Eaton, hopped a fence into a property and Keplinger stated he chased him in circles around the property. As the officer rounded a corner of the home, Eaton was seen to have ditched the jacket to confuse the officer, the affidavit states. Keplinger lost sight of Eaton before a passerby tipped him back on the trail and into a pasture.

A perimeter was set up and, after about a mile of foot chase and numerous commands to stop, Eaton was tackled by an officer and taken into custody, Keplinger stated. A blue butane torch was in Eaton’s pocket, along with burnt foil with drug residue. The officer noted Eaton was “babbling nonsense” and appeared to be under the influence, according to the affidavit.

Keplinger stated he went back to the burned area and noticed it didn’t appear to be a warming fire but, instead, trailed 10 to 15 feet and consumed dry dead grass, the affidavit states.

“I observed had the fire not been extinguished, the damage could have been catastrophic to Union Pacific Railroad,” Keplinger stated.

Eaton has prior felony convictions in Stephens County: March 2001, assault and battery upon a police officer; May 2012, domestic abuse – assault and battery; and April 2014, two counts of domestic abuse – assault and battery, records indicate.

Due to appearing to be under the influence on Feb. 14, Eaton didn’t appear in court until Tuesday, records indicate.