SPRINGDALE — Police arrested a man Tuesday they said pointed a handgun at a parts-store employee.
Noah Dillaplane, 25, was arrested in connection with felony aggravated assault after he pointed a gun at Daniel Contraras in the parking lot of Advance Auto Parts, 100 N. Thompson St., according to a news release.
Dillaplane was fleeing from police officers, said Capt. Ron Hritz of the Springdale Police Department.
“(The officers) passed him while they were returning to the station from the Springdale High School Law Academy,” Hritz said. “The officers saw something suspicious about him, and turned around to pull him over. He jumped out of the car while it was still rolling.”
The officers had to stop the white van Dillaplane was driving to see if anyone else was inside before they followed, Hritz said.
Contraras was walking across the parking lot of Advance Auto Parts to his car, he told police, when Dillaplane ran around the corner of the building. Contraras works at the store.
Dillaplane pointed a gun at Contraras, holding it sideways, Contraras told police. When Dillaplane squeezed the gun, the clip popped out, Contraras said.
Springdale dispatch received the first call of a man with a gun at 2:09 p.m.
Dillaplane ran across Emma Avenue and fled south between businesses on Thompson Street and the Springdale High School Performing Arts Center, witnesses said. He left the clip in the parking lot. Police also recovered the gun along the trail, Hritz said.
Springdale’s police dog, Xato, tracked Dillaplane through school grounds to Murphy Park. The track ended there, because to the number of people in the park, Hritz said.
At 3:23 p.m., officers spotted Dillaplane on Thompson Street, in front of Mary’s Natural Foods, 220 S. Thompson St., and stopped him, according to dispatch records. Contraras and other witnesses identified Dillaplane as the man who ran through the parking lot, Hritz said.
“He was probably hiding in a business, trying to wait us out,” Hritz said.
Employees at J&S Taxes, 210 S. Thompson St., Suite 6, said Dillaplane came into the business saying he had car trouble and asked if he could use a phone. He asked if he could stay in the building out of the sun until someone picked him up, employees said.
Dillaplane was also arrested in connection with felony possession of a firearm by a felon and misdemeanor fleeing.
The investigation is continuing, according to a police news release.