Deer Park Man Escapes After Stealing and Crashing a Patrol Car
Houston Chronicle - Texas
06/17/03


An 18-year-old Deer Park man remains on the loose today after stealing a
sheriff's patrol car, leading authorities on a chase, then crashing into 
another deputy's car, injuring him.

The man was able to bail from the stolen car and run into a wooded area
with his handcuffs on, Harris County Sheriff's officials said. Charges 
were pending against him early this afternoon.

The incident started in southwest Harris County after sheriff's officials
were alerted at 1:37 a.m. that the suspect was crashing his Chevrolet 
Tahoe into his former girlfriend's parked car over and over again, said
sheriff's Capt. Susan Nixon. The young woman was not in the car at the 
time. The suspect then fled the scene, but sheriff's deputies had a 
description of his vehicle and later stopped and arrested him.

The suspect was handcuffed and placed in the rear of a deputy's patrol
car in the 15200 block of Gray Ridge Drive, Nixon said. While the deputy
was less than 30 feet away, talking to a wrecker driver as the wrecked
Chevrolet Tahoe was about to be towed, the suspect flipped his legs through
his arms to move his cuffed wrists in front of him, Nixon said.

"This is an extremely wiry person," she said.

The suspect than managed to dislodge the cage separating the patrol car's 
front and back seats. He then climbed behind the wheel of the patrol car
and drove away. Another deputy at the scene immediately followed him.

After a fairly short chase, the suspect stopped in the 17800 block of FM 
1093 in Fort Bend County, Nixon said. The deputy behind him also stopped.
The suspect then abruptly put the stolen patrol car in reverse, backing 
into the deputy's car, then jumped out and ran away. The deputy sustained 
a minor head injury in the crash but did not go to the hospital, Nixon said.

The suspect ran over some nearby dams, then fled into the Addicks Reservoir,
which is heavily wooded, covered with underbrush and brackish water. The 
area is heavily infested with fire ants, water moccasins and alligators, 
so sheriff's officials believe he likely didn't come out of there, unmarked.

Sheriff's officials and the Department of Public Safety used helicopters and 
search dogs to track the suspect, but to no avail.

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