Atascadero, CA - Handcuffed Burglary Suspect Steals San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Squad Car - Escapes

San Luis Obispo County sheriff's deputies said a man they were trying to arrest stole one of their squad cars.

Deputies said the man was able to take off in the squad car in the 7300 block of El Camino Real.

McNamara Electric is three blocks north of where 20-year-old Jordan Thomas McNamara was first put into custody by the sheriff's department.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, a deputy was following up on a burglary case and arrested McNamara for burglary and violating probation.

When the deputy handcuffed him and put him in the back of his squad car, he went on to interview a female companion who was with McNamara. Out of the corner of the deputy's eye, he noticed his car was driving away.

That is when the deputy realized McNamara had gotten into the front seat, still handcuffed, and headed northbound in his cruiser on El Camino Real.

 The car was found ditched in the back parking lot of McNamara Electric.

"You know when something like this happens, it becomes the big news of a while. We don't have a whole lot of street crime around here," said Tim McCutchom, the owner of a business across the street from McNamara Electric.

Deputies said after the squad car was dumped, a woman at the electric store, who investigators said is the suspect's mother, drove him away in another car.

With the help of Atascadero police and the California Highway Patrol, the man was found two hours later during a traffic stop in Templeton, still wearing the handcuffs.

Employees at McNamara Electric did not want to talk to Action News about the incident.

McNamara has been booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail on charges of burglary, auto theft, and resisting arrest.

McNamara's mother has also been arrested for several charges, including conspiracy and being an accessory to a crime.