Mesa Arizona- Runaway, 13, Steals Police Car
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 29, 2005 08:20 AM
A 13-year-old boy who slipped out of a juvenile facility near downtown Mesa
on Monday night jumped into a police car and went on a joyride through two
cities police said.
The boy, who was arrested on suspicion of auto theft, burglary and curfew
violations, jumped over fence at the police parking lot and took the 2004 Ford
Crown Victoria marked police car.
An officer had left the squad car in the lot with the keys inside while he wrote
a report inside the building. The officer returned 45 minutes later and
discovered the car gone.
As officers searched for the car, the teenager called 911 and said he was
driving the car. The boy, who sounded calm during the call, told the dispatcher
he was near Lindsay Road and Main Street. She directed him to a fast-food
restaurant, where he parked the car and was taken into custody by police.
The boy told police he had run from the Mayfield Center, a family and juvenile
services center at 217 E. University Drive, where his mother had checked him in
that day. After running from the center, the boy said he made his way to the
nearby Mesa Police Department, jumped the fence and stole the vehicle.
He told police he drove through Tempe and Mesa. The police car was not
damaged.
The boy was booked into the Maricopa County Southeast Juvenile Detention Center
for auto theft, burglary and curfew violations.