A burglary suspect had Henderson police scrambling Wednesday morning after he stole a patrol car, fled from officers and abandoned it several miles away.

Henderson police spokesman Todd Rasmussen said the incident started about 8:30 a.m. after police received reports of a burglary on Sea Holly Way, near Wigwam and Green Valley parkways.

Patrol officers located and arrested the suspect, an unidentified man who said he was 19 years old, on Green Valley near the scene of the crime, Rasmussen said.

The suspect, who had his hands cuffed behind his back, asked police to return to the crime scene to retrieve an item he'd left there.

When officers parked and exited the car to search for the item, the suspect squeezed through a small opening through the plexiglass divider, slipped his cuffed hands under his feet and in front of his body, and drove off in the car, Rasmussen said.

The opening the suspect slipped through was only about one square foot, he said.

"I mean, it's really small," Rasmussen said. "Officers told me he was pretty thin."

Police tracked the car's GPS location and located the vehicle several miles away, parked at a shopping complex on Arroyo Grande Boulevard, he said. The car was found only a few minutes after it had been stolen..

The suspect was located and arrested -- again -- in a residential area near the shopping complex about 10:30 a.m.

Police have not confirmed the suspect's identity and will not release his mug shot, in case he's a juvenile. He will be booked as a John Doe on a variety of charges, including burglary and grand larceny.