A small sport utility vehicle shot out of the convenience store parking lot just as Howard and his patrol car were passing by. The sheriff’s sergeant fell in behind the sport vehicle and was checking the license tag by radio when the guy suddenly took off.

The chase went on for about 10 miles when the sport utility turned down a gravel road. Howard knew it was a dead-end road leading to the lakefront. Once the fleeing driver realized his mistake he had already worked his way into a maze of bushes, trees, and large rocks. The driver stopped. Howard got out of his patrol car and was considering his approach to the driver.

Suddenly, the sport utility started up again, heading straight toward Howard. As close as the charging rogue vehicle was, Howard had no time to dive for cover. He drew his SIG/Sauer 9mm pistol and fired one shot. Instantly the sport utility swerved and slammed into a tree. The driver jumped out and took-off running.

Meanwhile, unknown to Howard, a nearby resident heard the disturbance, called the sheriff’s department, grabbed his service pistol. Did I mention that the guy who called the sheriff was an off-duty deputy sheriff with Howard’s department?

The shift lieutenant was nearby and arrived moments later to help with the search. One of the deputies heard a rustle in the bushes and called out for the bad guy to surrender.

Instead, the perp ran to the end of the boat dock and leaped into the lake. The TV weatherman had said at 11 o’clock that the outside temperature was 42 degrees.

The deputies shined powerful flashlights on the guy in the lake. He’d swim away from the spotlight. Another light picked him up and again he’d swim away into the darkness. That little game proved tiring, especially when conditions were so right for hypothermia.

After the guy was warmed up and booked into the county jail, officers learned he had not held up the convenience store. The fact that his blood-alcohol level was .28 explains his actions. The law says you’re officially drunk with a .10.

A word about Howard’s magic bullet-the one that stopped the charging sport utility: The 9mm bullet struck the vehicle’s front fender near the hood, cut one of the battery cables completely in half, and made final impact on the electrical box on the fire wall. Powerless, the vehicle came to a dead stop.

Deputies still ask Howard if he actually "aimed for the battery cable." Howard won’t say. He just smiles.