Rodman skipped on gas, clerk says

Ex-basketball star stops in Glenwood after traffic stop near Frisco

 

By Ryan Graff

Post Independent Staff

July 27, 2005

 

Dennis Rodman, as famous for scandal and attitude as his five NBA championships, reportedly took a small memento — at a deep discount — of his brief stop in Glenwood Springs on Tuesday.

 

Glenwood Springs police responded to the Tomahawk Auto Truck Plaza in west Glenwood where a clerk reported a “gas skip” and theft.

 

The clerk reported that Rodman — certainly a highly recognizable figure — entered the convenience store, tried on a cowboy hat, told the clerk he liked it, and signed an autograph. Then he put $20 on the counter, which he said was for gas, and left, said Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson.

 

“Unfortunately $40 worth of gas was put in the car, and there was the cost of the hat to consider,” Wilson said.

 

Rodman could be charged with theft if the Tomahawk chose to pursue charges, but as Wilson understood the situation Tuesday evening, payment was being sent to the Tomahawk.

 

The Glenwood Police called the Colorado State Patrol, but that was far from the entire story.

 

In fact, Rodman, 44, had already been pulled over for reckless driving and speeding as he drove his Lamborghini through Summit County Tuesday morning, said Colorado State Patrol Capt. Ron Prater.

In Summit County, a trooper clocked Rodman traveling west at 98 mph on Interstate 70 near Frisco.

 

The trooper then attempted to pull Rodman over. The former basketball star continued driving for a short distance, but stopped between the two Frisco exits where he was ticketed for speeding and reckless driving, Prater said.

 

“He was not cooperative,” Prater said. “He was belligerent. He took an aggressive stance with the officers.”

 

Prater said that under different circumstances, the trooper might have arrested someone of Rodman’s demeanor but decided to issue a court summons and let him go.

 

“He’s a public, visible figure, and a summons was sufficient in that case,” he said.

 

Prater said Rodman was part of a larger group of people driving across the country as part of charity rally called the Bullrun, where celebrities and public figures drive high-priced vehicles across the country.

 

Darren Prince, Rodman’s agent, said Rodman was passing through Colorado on the way to Utah, having already driven through Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix on the tour.

 

“He’s pretty much just leading the pack of cars,” Prince said. “He had a little bit of a heavy foot. I think the speed limit was 60, so double what it should have been.”

 

According to its Web site, “The Bullrun is the most glamorous and high-profile of the new breed of high-end luxury lifestyle automobile rallies.”

 

“The reality is it’s just a free-for-all across the nation,” Prater said. “Basically this group has come just come across and disturbed the peace of our nice little community with just complete wanton disregard for anybody else.”

 

CSP’s regional dispatch center in Craig began receiving numerous calls Tuesday morning from Clear Creek County complaining of multiple extravagant vehicles speeding, driving unsafely and running other drivers off the road.

 

After the rally left Summit County, the dispatch center logged about 20 more calls as the cars moved through Eagle and Garfield counties. Prater said Rodman also received a second ticket in either Garfield or Moffat County for driving 89 mph in a 55-mph zone.

 

Rodman was as one of the best rebounders in the National Basketball Association during his nearly 15-year career, winning championships with the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls.

 

He also garnered attention for his tattoos and ever-changing hair color, as well as a string of suspensions and his number of technical fouls on the court.

 

Off the court, Rodman holds a bad-boy reputation for various hot-tempered incidents, including a 1999 arrest for assaulting then-wife Carmen Electra. Charges in that case were later dropped.

 

Summit County correspondent Nicole Formosa contributed to this report.

 

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very sad that they're giving a charity drive a bad name. who knows, maybe it's for publicity...

Nothing like doing a little charity work

The gas station attendant didn't realize that he was selected to teach Special Ed that day.

I think people realize Dennis is a few cards short of a full deck and don't hold it against the charity.