Illicit behavior while driving stolen RV – Oh, my!

It may have been a quiet shift for a patrolman in Bluefield, West Virginia, recently. In a city of fewer than 10,000 folks, perhaps watching for jaywalkers or stop-sign runners is key. Hang on! There goes a guy driving a motorhome with a naked woman straddling his lap! Before it was all over, police had plenty of crimes racked up with a single traffic stop. Sex while driving is a new one—for just about anywhere.

Suspect bluntly admits to sex while driving

Just about lunchtime on Wednesday, July 9, Patrolman R. L. Hamm, one of Bluefield’s finest, must have had a case of, “I can’t believe my eyes.” Sure enough, driving east on Bluefield Avenue was a motorhome. Nothing unusual about that, except that the driver had a naked woman on his lap.

With blue lights flashing and siren whooping, the motorhome went another half mile before pulling into the parking lot of a local auto parts store.

When Hamm reached the cab of the motorhome he found a clothed woman at the wheel, and a man in the passenger seat. Bystanders informed the officer that the two had switched seats.

The police officer asked the man, Matthew McDonnell, just what was going on. McDonnell straightforwardly told the officer (and we’ll summarize, not quote, his response), that indeed he and the woman, Sharon Bryant, were having sex as they rock-and-rolled through downtown Bluefield.

As the two were taken out of the rig, it became quite apparent that Sharon Bryant was intoxicated—to the point she couldn’t be interviewed on scene. McDonnell told police he knew that his faire l’amour partner was under-the-influence, but had her take the wheel anyway.

Drugs and stolen RV cap it off

As the traffic stop crowd grew, a K9 officer was called in. The dog alerted to the presence of drugs. Found in the RV, a glass pipe with suspected narcotics residue, a bag containing a white powdery substance, a grinder with suspected marijuana, and a “piece of foil commonly used to smoke drugs.”

After Sharon Bryant failed multiple field sobriety tests, she was taken to a hospital. There she not only consented to a blood draw, she told police that Matthew McDonnell had tossed drugs out of the motorhome during the police pullover attempt. Police recovered Gabapentin pills and a broken glass pipe.

A subsequent VIN check revealed the motorhome was stolen.

Next trip, everyone will have clothes on

Sharon Bryant is now out of the hospital. Both she and McDonnell have a new temporary residence in the local jail. Both are charged with indecent exposure, possession of a stolen vehicle, and drug possession. McDonnell has additional charges, including permitting DUI, reckless driving, and having multiple outstanding warrants. Sex while driving, mixed with drugs and a stolen RV, can lead you down the wrong path.

And so ends one of Bluefield’s more memorable lunchtime matinees—complete with nudity, a moving crime scene, and a stolen set of wheels. For Patrolman Hamm, what started as a routine day turned into a traffic stop that could double as an audition tape for Cops: Appalachian Edition. As for McDonnell and Bryant, their road trip romance has shifted gears—from RV to DOC. No word yet on whether their next ride together will be a prison transport, but at least this time, everyone will be fully dressed.

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