Stolen Laredo Police Car Wrecked
June 24, 2002 - Laredo, TX

A woman, suspected of trespassing in a residence,
allegedly stole a police car after she was arrested Sunday
afternoon and wrecked it into a parked vehicle, police
reported.

Eloise Diaz-Hodges, 34, was arrested and charged with criminal 
trespassing in the 400 block of Reynolds. She was subsequently 
charged with theft of a motor vehicle and evading arrest after 
stealing the police car she was placed in after her arrest.

Diaz-Hodges was pending ministration Sunday evening.

Police spokesman Juan Rivera said the incident began as a 
burglary alarm call to a residence in the 400 block of Reynolds 
at about 4:10 p.m.

A police officer arrived at the scene and found Diaz-Hodges
trespassing on the property. She was arrested and placed in the 
back of the police unit while the officer took witness statements, 
Rivera explained.

"It's procedure: you make the arrest, put the suspect in the
back of the car and go conduct the investigation. And you can't
turn off the car because its super hot, you have to leave the 
A/C on for the prisoner," Rivera said.

Patrol cars have a Plexiglas barrier between the front and back 
seats that is on a hinge and can be placed up or down, Rivera said.
The barrier in this car was down.

Diaz-Hodges, who had her hands handcuffed behind her back, 
was able to maneuver her hands to the front of her body. She  
then jumped into the front seat and drove off in the police unit, 
Rivera said.

She drove a couple blocks from the 400 block of Reynolds to the 
2500 block of Monterrey Avenue where she wrecked into a parked 
Suzuki Esteem, a type of station wagon, Rivera said.

Diaz-Hodges then tried to evade police on foot, but was captured 
shortly after at the 2600 block of Sanders Avenue.

The owner of the Suzuki Esteem, Miguei Madrid, from San Antonio,
was irate after the accident, saying that he wanted the city to pay
for his damaged vehicle.

"I don't even want to go through my insurance because my rates 
will go up," he said.

Madrid, who was in Laredo visiting in-laws, said he was relieved
that there weren't any children outside playing as there normally
are in that particular neighborhood at that time during the day.

"There were children outside playing earlier in the day," he said.

Among Madrid's in-laws and the children playing outside earlier in
the day was Stephanie Garcia, a little girl who was struck in the
head on New Year's Eve by a stray bullet believed to have been 
shot into the air by a New Year's reveler.


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By Paul Martinez - Copyright 1995-2002 PowerOne Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.