Albuquerque, New Mexico - Prostitute Prisoner Steals Police Car

By Megan Arredondo
Tribune Reporter
December 23, 2005

Posted 3:30 p.m. A woman arrested for prostitution has much more on her plate after she stole the officers' car, according to a Metro Court complaint.

Detectives with Albuquerque Police Department's Vice Unit arrested Jennifer Herrera, 34, Thursday after they saw her flag down a vehicle in the Northeast Heights, the complaint stated.

Undercover detectives in an unmarked car followed Herrera and her client to a dirt lot at the dead end of Jane Street and Chico Road Northeast. Detectives approached the vehicle and found the male driver and Herrera, who had her "pants down to her thighs," the complaint stated.

The man was released pending further investigation, according to court documents.

Herrera was arrested. But because undercover police cars don't have cages in the back seat, she was put in the front, said APD spokeswoman Trish Hoffman.

The woman was alone in the car "for a brief moment," Hoffman said, but it was long enough for Herrera to slip her handcuffed hands from behind her and drive away, the complaint stated.

Police said Herrera drove from Parsifal Street and Central Avenue Northeast to an area near Skyline Road and Zena Lona Court Northeast, where she jumped out and began to run.

Officers quickly caught Herrera and took her into custody, Hoffman said. She was charged with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing an officer and tampering with evidence.

 

Hoffman said she doesn't know whether the officers will face punishment for allowing their vehicle to be commandeered.

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