Man Accused of Trying to Kill Family Pet With Ice Cream Truck

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City woman said a man driving an ice cream truck used the vehicle to try to kill a family pet.

Jana Lane, a nurse and a certified law enforcement officer, is an avid animal lover. Lane said she spotted a scared stray dog a couple of houses down from hers and tried to help.

"And when I did, about the same time, that's when I saw an ice cream van come around the corner," Lane said.

She said the man driving the ice cream truck, John Patrick Marcus, jumped out and in an angry tone identified himself as the dog's owner.

"So, I hold onto the dog. So, the dog takes one look at this man and he darts. He starts running down the street as fast as he can," Lane said.

Lane said what happened next stunned the neighborhood. She said Marcus threatened to kill the dog, jumped back into the ice cream truck and sped off towards the dog.

"Went through the stop sign and then I saw him hit his dog. And I saw the dog roll and the van just sped off," Lane said.

The dog somehow survived and suffered only a concussion and several bruised bones. At the vet's office, doctors found a microchip in the dog that identified the owner.

Lane said she researched the name on the Internet and that's how she was able to identify the dog's owner as John Marcus, a wanted felon with a violent criminal history.

Marcus is now in jail, and the dog has a new home with the Lane family. The family named their new addition Landry.

Lane said Oklahoma City police are investigating the attack and she does want charges filed.

The manager of Summer Song ice cream trucks, who owns the vehicle that hit Landry, said Marcus doesn't work for them but his girlfriend does.

The company said it is against company policy to have anyone other than the employed driver in the truck.