BONNY DOON — A California Highway Patrol car was stolen then ditched by a handcuffed man Tuesday afternoon, minutes after he was arrested on an auto theft charge at Lockheed Martin.

"This doesn’t happen very often," CHP spokesman Sam Courtney said, as officers canvassed Bonny Doon for John Vincent Smith, 50, the homeless Santa Cruz man who made off with the patrol car. The vehicle was stocked with a shotgun and an AR15 rifle.

Security guards at Lockheed Martin called police sometime before 11 a.m. to say they thought Smith was driving while drunk — the back wheels of the Volvo he was driving became stuck in mud during a failed three-point turn in front of the security kiosk.

Responding CHP officer Jim Crouch arrested Smith; the Volvo had been stolen in Santa Cruz on Oct. 16.

Crouch cuffed Smith’s hands behind his back and seated him in the front passenger seat of the patrol car.

"That’s pretty standard for patrol cars that don’t have cages," Courtney said. "That keeps the suspect within arm’s reach."

But Smith complained of heat, Courtney said, so Crouch moved his car to the shade and left it running — keys in the ignition — so Smith could feel the air conditioning.

While Crouch helped a tow truck driver with the Volvo, Smith slipped his arms under his feet to the front of his body and drove away, still cuffed.

"Some people are very lithe," Courtney said.

A dozen CHP cars, a CHP plane and all available county law enforcement agencies searched for Smith, who could have taken one of several dirt roads in the area.

Smith was nowhere in sight.

Investigators believe Smith drove the car into the ravine, then escaped on foot. There were no skid marks on the road or traces of blood in the car, Courtney said. The car appeared salvageable.

The weapons in the patrol car were locked, and did not appear to have been tampered with, Courtney said.

Officers called off the search shortly before 2 p.m.

"It wasn’t a violent crime, and we know who he is," Courtney said. "He’ll turn up."

If he is caught, Smith will face two felony counts of auto theft and one misdemeanor charge for resisting arrest.

Courtney said an additional felony charge of escape may be added.

Courtney said it is too soon to know if Crouch will face any disciplinary action by the CHP.

He said it is not standard procedure to leave a suspect alone in a running patrol car.

Court records show Smith has been arrested at least a dozen times in Santa Cruz County, and was arrested in February 2000 for auto theft. He was not convicted of that charge.

He is on probation for a Feb. 6 conviction for possession of a hypodermic needle and a July 30, 2002, conviction for possessing drugs.

His record includes a July 7, 2000, sentence for a drug solicitation charge; an Aug. 5, 1999, conviction for receiving stolen property; a July 26, 1999, conviction for possessing drug paraphernalia, and a Sept. 28, 1998, conviction for drug possession.

Courtney said Smith has been known to stay at the River Street Shelter and at a residence on Fair Street in Santa Cruz.

Smith is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 180 pounds and has brown hair and gray eyes. He also has several tattoos, including an eagle and swastika, "666" and "100% Honky" on his upper right arm, a spider on his right forearm, a skull on his chest, an eagle and DOA on his stomach and a web on his right forearm.

The CHP requests anyone who might know Smith’s whereabouts to contact the Santa Cruz Area CHP at 662-0511.

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