Dallas, TX - Domestic Call - Man Assaulted Girlfriend - Handcuffed Prisoner Steals Dallas Police Car - Police Car Found In Arlington - Escaped

December 12, 2010

star-telegram.com

A Crime Stoppers tip led to Monday night's recovery of a stolen unmarked Thurston County sheriff's patrol car in the parking lot of a Lacey apartment complex.

A woman who later was arrested said she and another person stole the vehicle after they discovered it parked, unlocked, on an Olympia street, with the keys in a pocket of a coat in the car, court papers state.

The woman, Leah Moreno, 25, of Tenino, said she and the accomplice took a bulletproof vest and a zip drive from the car and planned to strip the tires and engine, then set the car afire, court papers state. The accomplice is identified as Daniel Conaty, 22, who has no fixed address.

The car was stolen Nov. 23 in the area of Eskridge Way and Maringo Street in Olympia. It was outside the home of a captain who works in corrections with the Sheriff’s Office.

The car was recovered at a complex at 1220 East St. S.E. after a suspect told a deputy where it was, court papers state.

The car was undamaged, Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain said Tuesday. It was missing the emergency lights off the visor and the rear license plate, court papers state.

Moreno and Conaty were being held Tuesday night at the Thurston County Jail on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. Moreno’s bail was set at $10,000; Conaty’s was $5,000.

A deputy found Moreno at a Tumwater hotel Monday night after law enforcement received a Crime Stoppers tip that she was involved in the theft and was there, Thurston County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said Tuesday.

According to court papers:

Moreno led deputies to the stolen car. She said she and Conaty had been prowling vehicles in Olympia when they came across it, and they initially left without stealing it but later returned.

Deputies found two other people in Moreno’s hotel room. They also found illegal narcotics, a stolen identification card and a stolen McLane Fire Department badge. The room’s occupants, who were not arrested, told deputies that “Leah and Daniel had stolen the vehicle and that they had started bragging about the theft around Thanksgiving.” One of the occupants added that Conaty was trying to sell the bulletproof vest.

Deputies found Conaty sleeping in a grocery store parking lot in Lacey and arrested him. His father told deputies he had sold the bulletproof vest; court records do not indicate whether it was recovered.



Read more: http://www.theolympian.com/2010/12/01/v-print/1458403/deputies-follow-tip-to-missing.html#ixzz16sFhRod2
A Grand Prairie man in handcuffs turned to the closest getaway vehicle he could find to escape from authorities Sunday: a Dallas patrol car.

And it worked.

Area police continued their search Monday for the 31-year-old man who stole the patrol car while in custody in Dallas and then abandoned it in Arlington.

Dallas police identified the man as James Huffer Jr., who could still be wearing the handcuffs and might be in Arlington or Grand Prairie, where he has acquaintances.

At about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Dallas police responded to a domestic call in the 4600 block of Cedar Springs Road.

They had received reports that a man had assaulted his girlfriend.

Once at the apartment complex, officers found Huffer, arrested him and placed him, handcuffed and alone, in the back seat of a patrol car.

A Dallas police news release indicated that the man was able to move his arms in front of him, get into the front seat of the car and drive off as officers stood nearby.

Dallas dispatchers tracked the stolen patrol car as he drove on Stemmons Freeway, Texas 183 and then onto Texas 360 in east Tarrant County.

The suspect drove to Arlington, where he abandoned the car about 7 a.m. near Avenue H, according to Dallas police.

Dallas police said that the man fled from them for about 20 minutes before he left the patrol car in Arlington.

Dallas and Arlington police searched the area around Avenue H in Arlington, but officers could not find Huffer.

He faces charges of escape, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and family violence assault, according to Dallas police.

The patrol car was not damaged and nothing was missing from it, Dallas police said.



Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/12/2699045/handcuffed-suspect-steals-dallas.html#ixzz180pCgYAg
A Grand Prairie man in handcuffs turned to the closest getaway vehicle he could find to escape from authorities Sunday: a Dallas patrol car.

And it worked.

Area police continued their search Monday for the 31-year-old man who stole the patrol car while in custody in Dallas and then abandoned it in Arlington.

Dallas police identified the man as James Huffer Jr., who could still be wearing the handcuffs and might be in Arlington or Grand Prairie, where he has acquaintances.

At about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Dallas police responded to a domestic call in the 4600 block of Cedar Springs Road.

They had received reports that a man had assaulted his girlfriend.

Once at the apartment complex, officers found Huffer, arrested him and placed him, handcuffed and alone, in the back seat of a patrol car.

A Dallas police news release indicated that the man was able to move his arms in front of him, get into the front seat of the car and drive off as officers stood nearby.

Dallas dispatchers tracked the stolen patrol car as he drove on Stemmons Freeway, Texas 183 and then onto Texas 360 in east Tarrant County.

The suspect drove to Arlington, where he abandoned the car about 7 a.m. near Avenue H, according to Dallas police.

Dallas police said that the man fled from them for about 20 minutes before he left the patrol car in Arlington.

Dallas and Arlington police searched the area around Avenue H in Arlington, but officers could not find Huffer.

He faces charges of escape, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and family violence assault, according to Dallas police.

The patrol car was not damaged and nothing was missing from it, Dallas police said.



Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/12/2699045/handcuffed-suspect-steals-dallas.html#ixzz180pCgYAg

A Grand Prairie man in handcuffs turned to the closest getaway vehicle he could find to escape from authorities Sunday: a Dallas patrol car.

And it worked.

Area police continued their search Monday for the 31-year-old man who stole the patrol car while in custody in Dallas and then abandoned it in Arlington.

Dallas police identified the man as James Huffer Jr., who could still be wearing the handcuffs and might be in Arlington or Grand Prairie, where he has acquaintances.

At about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Dallas police responded to a domestic call in the 4600 block of Cedar Springs Road.

They had received reports that a man had assaulted his girlfriend.

Once at the apartment complex, officers found Huffer, arrested him and placed him, handcuffed and alone, in the back seat of a patrol car.

A Dallas police news release indicated that the man was able to move his arms in front of him, get into the front seat of the car and drive off as officers stood nearby.

Dallas dispatchers tracked the stolen patrol car as he drove on Stemmons Freeway, Texas 183 and then onto Texas 360 in east Tarrant County.

The suspect drove to Arlington, where he abandoned the car about 7 a.m. near Avenue H, according to Dallas police.

Dallas police said that the man fled from them for about 20 minutes before he left the patrol car in Arlington.

Dallas and Arlington police searched the area around Avenue H in Arlington, but officers could not find Huffer.

He faces charges of escape, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and family violence assault, according to Dallas police.

The patrol car was not damaged and nothing was missing from it, Dallas police said.

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