Homeless Couple Steal Washtenaw County Sheriff's Patrol Car - Escape
But they didn't get away with the deputy's car for long - it was found parked minutes later, and the man and woman were arrested.
Washtenaw County sheriff's spokesman Derrick Jackson said the deputy was called to the 100 block of Chestnut Boulevard in Scio Farms Estates shortly after 5 p.m. on a family trouble complaint.
A Washtenaw County sheriff's patrol car was stolen tonight.
The family was involved in a dispute over the living arrangements of two family members, Jackson said. The deputy agreed to drive the two to the Robert J. Delonis homeless shelter in downtown Ann Arbor.
The deputy placed the man and woman in the back of the patrol car to finish his investigation, Jackson said. But while the deputy was interviewing someone outside the vehicle, at least one of the two individuals in the back made it through the small window separating the front and back seats, Jackson said.
When the deputy looked up, his car was driving away.
"We're not sure how, but they wiggled through the window," Jackson said. "Still not sure why they did that."
The patrol car was found not far away minutes later, still running, Jackson said. The man and woman weren't inside, but they were soon found and arrested.
Jackson said they may have been trying to go to a friend's house instead of the homeless shelter.
Nothing was missing from the car, and it wasn't damaged, Jackson said.
The man and woman are being held in the Washtenaw County Jail on car theft charges and are expected to be arraigned Thursday. Jackson said he didn't know whether either has a criminal history.