Bluefield, VA - Probationer Steals Police Cruiser - Crashes - Bit by K-9- then Arrested

Man Accused of Stealing Police Cruiser and Other Vehicle
Posted 6/13/2006 11:51 PM

A man is accused of taking off in a Bluefield, Virginia, police car and then stealing another man's car.
 

It started at the Bluefield, Virginia, police station Tuesday afternoon.

Police were booking Mark Looney, 33, on a probation violation, when he allegedly ran off, got into a police cruiser, and took off.

Police say he later ditched the car in Falls Mills, Virginia, when he discovered it had a flat tire.

That's when he's accused of stealing a car from a man's home and driving to West Virginia.

Police saw the car in Bluewell in Mercer County Tuesday evening and pursued Looney, until he wrecked the car behind an apartment complex near Bluefield State College.

Police say Looney got out of the vehicle and ran off.

But a dog from the K-9 unit bit him, and there was a struggle before police could arrest him.

Looney faces a slew of charges, including battery on an officer, escape and grand larceny.

The police cruiser belonged to Bluefield, Virginia, Officer D.A. Belcher.

Police will do an internal investigation to see how Looney got the car keys and whether officers acted appropriately

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