Nude Pa. man accused of stealing bus with dead deer to use as 'fertilizer for his garden'

DILLSBURG, Pa. (TCD) -- A 25-year-old man is in custody after allegedly stealing a school bus and leading police on a chase.

According to a news release from the Carroll Township Police Department, on Tuesday, April 4, at approximately 7:10 a.m., officers were notified about a school bus that had been stolen in Abbottstown. Officers reportedly saw the school bus in the parking lot of Giant Foods and Rite Aid with the lights "turning on and off intermittently."

Police said the bus eventually left the parking lot and headed toward Route 15 North. Officers caught up to the vehicle near the Mechanicsburg/Bowmansdale exit on Route 15 and tried to perform a traffic stop. The bus reportedly pulled over near the junction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and then pulled away onto Route 15, "winding in and out of traffic lanes."

According to police, the vehicle then left the highway and "drove over a berm, nearly overturning the bus" before continuing onto Gettysburg Road.

The driver of the bus, later identified as Tony Saunders, got out of the bus and fled the scene on foot in a wooded area. During a police chase, officials said Saunders dodged through high-traffic areas and "stripped his clothing as he fled from police."

Saunders was taken into custody in the nude and reportedly confessed to stealing the bus after crashing a BMW.

During an interview, Saunders told police he placed a dead deer in the back of the bus and was planning to use it as "fertilizer for his garden."

He was arrested and booked into the York County Jail on charges of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest or other law enforcement, and reckless driving.

MORE:

• Arrest — Carroll Township Police Department