Out of the entire universe full of objects of potential interest to human beings, there's only one thing Clayton Earthman enjoys enough to like on Facebook. It's Doomsday Preppers, the National Geographic reality show about otherwise sane Americans steeling themselves for the post-apocalyptic nightmare they're sure is just around the corner.
Eastman, though, isn't a mere spectator. He's a prepper himself. At least that's what he told Dallas police after they pulled him over Wednesday for running a stop sign on Lovett Drive in Pleasant Grove.
Eastman didn't volunteer this information at first. It's not, after all, a subject that's broached during most routine traffic stops. But then officers spotted the gun sitting in plain view on his floorboard and, after a brief search, various bomb-making supplies. These included several hand-written notes describing how to build various explosive devices and booby traps. The ATF found more of the same at his home in Waxahachie.
There's another, equally elegant explanation for how Eastman came to have his car stocked with weapons: drugs. Eastman admitted in an interview that he'd used meth three days before. Whether he considers himself a meth addict isn't clear from documents filed in federal court today. It also isn't clear whether the methadone he's been taking for the past year has helped him kick his heroin habit. But he was very clear on one point: He's pretty sure he's addicted to marijuana.
That's quite the chemical cocktail, enough to make anyone hole up in a bunker. Eastman's problem -- aside from the drugs -- was that he wasn't holed up. He was driving through Dallas, which got him arrested and charged with being a drug addict in possession of a firearm.
(h/t The Dallas Morning News)
