Green Bay, WI - Police Chase - Crash - Suspect Steals Hobart-Lawrence Police Car - Police Car Found 2 Hours Later - Tried To Light Patrol Car On Fire

December 15, 2010

postcrescent.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
 

 

 

An officer tried to stop a suspicious vehicle about 2:55 a.m. near Pleasant Lane and Goose Road, said Chief Randy Bani of the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department.

That vehicle fled and rammed into the police car before swerving into a ditch, Bani said.

After that, about four people ran from the vehicle and the officer chased them. The driver of the suspicious vehicle then entered the police car and drove off, Bani said.

The car was located about two hours later near Van Boxtel and Ranch roads in the Town of Oneida in Outagamie County, Bani said.

“It appears he was trying to set the squad car on fire,” Bani said.

The suspect was located shortly at a residence close by on Seminary Road. The suspect faces possible charges of operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, arson and recklessly endangering safety.

Police said the people who fled the vehicle have been interviewed and released.

One suspect is accused of possession of drug paraphernalia.



Read more: http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20101215/APC0101/312160016/Man-accused-of-stealing-police-car-near-Green-Bay-trying-to-set-it-on-fire#ixzz18CQJWNKS

A 22-year-old Town of Oneida man is in custody this morning after allegedly stealing a Hobart-Lawrence police car and trying to set it on fire.

An officer tried to stop a suspicious vehicle about 2:55 a.m. near Pleasant Lane and Goose Road, said Chief Randy Bani of the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department.

That vehicle fled and rammed into the police car before swerving into a ditch, Bani said.

After that, about four people ran from the vehicle and the officer chased them. The driver of the suspicious vehicle then entered the police car and drove off, Bani said.

The car was located about two hours later near Van Boxtel and Ranch roads in the Town of Oneida in Outagamie County, Bani said.

“It appears he was trying to set the squad car on fire,” Bani said.

The suspect was located shortly at a residence close by on Seminary Road. The suspect faces possible charges of operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent, arson and recklessly endangering safety.

Police said the people who fled the vehicle have been interviewed and released.

One suspect is accused of possession of drug paraphernalia.

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