12/05/12 Gastonia, NC – Police Car At Strip Club Call – Suspect Jumps In Police Car – Talks On Radio – Tries To Steal

When a Gastonia man entered a police car at a Gastonia strip club early Wednesday, he talked on the police radio explaining he was “just trying to have a good time,” according to police.

Jason Eric Tate, 39, of 4700 Can Do Court, is accused of climbing into a 2002 Ford Crown Victoria patrol car operated by the Gastonia Police Department and trying to steal it. He then reportedly got on the police radio and carried on a conversation with a dispatcher.

The incident happened around 3 a.m. as officers responded to a call about someone breaking into a car at Leather and Lace, 512 W. Main Ave., Gastonia.

The police report on Tate’s charges is incomplete. He reportedly resisted Officer C.E. Nelson, got in a patrol car and “began playing on (the) radio and would not exit the vehicle when instructed to do so,” according to arrest warrants.

Tate asked, “Are any emergencies going on?” over the police radio. Then a dispatcher said a few words. Tate responded, “Are any emergencies going? This is car 717775, uh, just trying to have a good time.”

Apparently unaware that the police cruiser had been taken over by Tate, the dispatcher asked him to repeat the number.

“The unit number? The unit number is let’s have an [expletive] good time,” Tate responded on the radio. “Is everything going good tonight?”

The radio traffic ceased moments later.

He was booked into the Gaston County Jail at 3:58 a.m. and charged with resisting an officer, breaking into a vehicle, attempted vehicle larceny and interfering with emergency communication.

Tate was jailed under a $10,000 secured bond. In February, he was booked into the Gaston County Jail and charged with injury to personal property, second-degree trespassing and public disturbance.