Holderness, NH - DWI Handcuffed Suspect Steals Police Cruiser - Crashes - Escapes
Police: Man Turns Self In After Stealing
Cruiser
Police Believed Man Had Deformed Left Hand, Put Him In Cruiser Unrestrained
October 14, 2009 WMUR
HOLDERNESS, N.H. -- Holderness police said a Laconia man was charged with
driving while intoxicated and escape after stealing a police cruiser following a
traffic stop.
Police said officers suspected James Russo was driving while intoxicated late
Tuesday night. The officers stopped Russo at about 11:50 p.m. and put him in the
back of a police cruiser unrestrained, believing he had a malformation of the
left hand.
Police said the officers went to talk to other occupants in the car when
Russo took control of the cruiser and fled the scene a short time later. Police
said he crashed the cruiser in an embankment a few miles away on Pulsifer Hill
Road in Campton and fled on foot.
Officers from several departments and a K-9 unit searched the area for several
hours and were not able to locate Russo. A police search Wednesday morning also
did not find any trace of Russo.
Police said he ultimately turned himself in to Holderness police on Wednesday
afternoon. Russo faces charges of driving while intoxicated and escape. Police
said other charges could be pending, including reckless conduct, taking without
owner's consent and criminal mischief.
Russo, 25, of Laconia, remained held at the Grafton County House of Corrections
pending arraignment at Plymouth District Court on Thursday morning