April 15th, 2013
Video: Dramatic traffic stop turns up fake gun

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STAFF REPORT

Drivers waiting for a car wreck to be cleared on Lime Kiln Road were surprised when San Marcos police swarmed the area, looking for a man that had reportedly brandished a handgun outside HEB.

People in line near the suspect’s Ford pickup were hurriedly instructed to leave their vehicles as officers used a speaker to order four people out of the truck.

Mark Wheeler, 43, and three passengers — apparently hitchhikers catching a ride home from the river — were briefly detained. The gun turned out out to be BB gun that closely resembled a black Glock 9mm.

Wheeler’s rap sheet includes a number of arrests, mostly for drug and marijuana possession, and at one point was sent to a state mental health facility. His charges include a 2001 conviction for unlawfully carrying a weapon. Last year, he served 44 days in jail for reckless driving.

Lime Kiln Road — the only way in or out of sprawling, unincorporated residential areas along Hilliard Road — remained closed for more than an hour while a Texas Department of Public Safety officer conducted an investigation.

Hays County officers said no arrests were made and no one was injured but referred other questions about the accident to the trooper, who left the scene without taking questions.