Metaire, LA - Man Steals Jefferson Parish Patrol Car - Crashes - Drives Into Mississippi River - Submerged - Divers Search
Man Steals Police Car, Drives It Into Miss.
River
Vehicle Stolen From Jefferson Parish
METAIRIE, La. -- A man stole a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office vehicle and
drove it into the Mississippi River early Sunday, police said.
At about 6 a.m., an officer was investigating a suspicious person complaint in
the 2500 block of N. Woodlawn in Metairie. When he returned back to where his
JPSO vehicle was parked, he discovered that it had been stolen.
About 20 minutes later, JPSO was notified of a man driving a police car
erratically in St. Charles Parish on the Mississippi River levee.
The St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene only to see the
man drive the vehicle into the Mississippi River.
Officers were able to remove him from the river once he'd escaped from the car.
David Mitchell Jr., 22, of River Ridge was arrested later.
Police said they think the man crashed into a face that parallels the nearby
airport access road because pieces of the police car were scattered along the
fence.
Divers were attempting to locate the police vehicle in the river.
Mitchell has a lengthy criminal history, including charges of armed robbery,
disturbing the peace, DWI and narcotics.
When he was arrested on Sunday, he had been on probation until 2009 for an armed
robbery conviction in Jefferson Parish