N.J. driver who halted bridge traffic sensed danger

He lived in a $500,000 house, drove a Cadillac Escalade SUV, and talked about his fraternity brothers. But Johnny Lee Reed IV felt the world closing in on him.

Worried and increasingly desperate, Reed had spent days trying to convince authorities that someone was bugging his car, his e-mail and his phones, and that his family was in danger.

On Thursday, Reed's dramatic standoff shut down the Walt Whitman Bridge for 31/2 hours, snarling evening rush-hour traffic throughout the region.

Ultimately, one of the very authorities Reed had petitioned talked him away from the middle of the 3,500-foot span.

Yesterday, Reed, 35, of Sicklerville, was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation and faced charges of criminal restraint, aggravated assault, and terroristic threats for threatening to blow up the Walt Whitman.

He was being held on $70,000 bail while under psychiatric observation at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden.

His girlfriend, Monica Hayman, 31, of the same address, was also being giving a psychiatric evaluation and was being held on $65,000 bail on charges of obstruction, resisting arrest, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and conspiracy to criminal restraint.

Hayman and the couple's 1-year-old son were in the SUV with Reed during the standoff. Authorities say Hayman was not being held against her will.

The boy was taken to Cooper University Hospital after the incident and found to be in "very, very good condition," authorities said. He was in the custody of his maternal grandmother yesterday, officials said.

Armed with a fake gun and a baseball bat, Reed led New Jersey state police on an eight-mile pursuit that began about 4:30 p.m. after they attempted to stop him for speeding in the northbound lanes of Route 42 in Gloucester Township.

Officers called off the chase when Reed's driving became erratic, but Reed drove on, finally stopping on the Walt Whitman and exiting the SUV. He swung his bat at passing vehicles with one arm and held his little boy, Johnny Lee Reed V, with the other. Police shut the bridge to traffic after Reed struck two cars.

The couple surrendered after negotiators signed a contract guaranteeing the toddler's safety.

Along with himself and his family in the white Escalade, which was not stolen or the subject of a search, police said, Reed had stashed a small Rottweiler and a "very realistic" airsoft pellet gun.

"It looked like a Sig Sauer," Sgt. Stephen Jones, state police spokesman, said of the gun. "Just like the ones we carry."

After surrendering, Reed told agents that he wanted to speak with Michelle Obama, wife of the presidential candidate, to air his grievances. The federal government was after him and his family, he said.

As reporters gathered in a nearby room for a news conference at the state police barracks in Bellmawr, Reed was heard rambling to himself in a loud voice, talking about a conspiracy against him, his bad credit, his father who played pro football.

He had been voicing concerns about his family's welfare for at least four days.

On Easter, Reed went to the Bellmawr barracks and expressed concern for the safety of his son, authorities said. His contentions were vague, said police, who referred him to the Winslow Township police.

Reed was composed at the time, police said.

State police have a clear policy on what to do if someone's behavior is dangerous, Jones said.

"It's pretty common for us to refer people to a crisis center and have them evaluated," he said. "We get calls for that as well. If we feel that they're going to be a danger to themselves or anybody else, we'll have them go for a mental-health screening."

When the situation warrants, an officer will transport someone to a mental-health facility, Jones said.

It appears that Reed's conduct on Sunday did not warrant a referral.

Winslow Police Lt. David Deaner said Reed has had contact with the police several times in the last year, all for minor incidents. He was stopped for a speeding violation, and he made five 911 calls and hung up.

On Sunday afternoon, apparently after he visited state police, Reed showed up at the Winslow station house on Route 73.

"He came in here to report that his house, phone lines, computer and vehicle were bugged," Deaner said. "There wasn't really anything to do. We took the report and that was it."

On Tuesday, Reed called The Inquirer's South Jersey bureau and told an editor that his family was being threatened. He was desperate, he said.

Reed said that he had spent all of Sunday contacting law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, but that none would help him. His fearful family was with him in the car as he drove from police station to police station.

He was vague in his description of the threats, but clearly felt danger closing in. His phone and e-mail accounts had been "compromised," he said. He had received an ominous e-mail from a "Nigerian prince," he said, apparently unaware of the online fund-transfer scams that have spanned the globe.

Articulate and polite, Reed referred to a fraternity brother he said he contacted for help but who he now believed was conspiring against him.

Public records searches show Reed has moved frequently, spending time in Virginia, Texas, North Jersey, Maple Shade, Pennsauken and Pine Hill before moving to Sicklerville. Hayman previously lived in Newfield and Willingboro.

In January 2007, the couple purchased their home on Twisting Lane, a pretty block in a modern development, for $504,000, property records show.

Yesterday, the neighborhood was quiet. A car was parked in the driveway of the couple's stately brick home with black shutters, and the lawn was immaculately manicured. A wood-and-plastic play structure stood in the backyard.

No one answered the door. It remains unclear what happened there in the span of four days to turn a worried but calm father into a man swinging wildly at thin air.