Minneapolis, MN - Career Criminal With Numerous Escapes Steals Minneapolis Squad Car - Crashes Into Pole
May, 13 2010
wcco.com
A career-criminal was so determined to get away from police that he managed
to squeeze through from the backseat of a squad car and steal the vehicle for a
brief while before being caught.
"Nothing new for this guy," said Sgt. Jesse Garcia, the Spokesperson for the
Minneapolis Police Department. "He's a career criminal. He has numerous escapes
from custodies, flees and burglaries against him."
Raymond Gurneau, 33, is now sitting in the Hennepin County Jail after the stunt
he pulled on a couple cops in North Minneapolis early Wednesday morning.
They pulled him over on an outstanding warrant from the Minnesota Department of
Corrections for fleeing and escaping custody.
They put him in the backseat of their car, and while driving to jail, he told
them they never found the gun in his car. So while the cops searched his car, he
escaped.
Gurneau had to slide through an opening in the plexiglass partition between the
front and back seats of the squad car.
The opening is only about 12 inches by 16 inches, and there's even a locking
mechanism on it.
Somehow, Gurneau was able to open the sliding window and crawl right through.
The keys were already in the ignition, and the squad car was running.
"This is an extremely small place," said Sgt. Garcia. "It's like a house-rat
crawling through a small hole. And that's exactly what happened here."
Those cops caught up to Gurneau eight blocks away after he crashed into a pole
near North 29th Avenue and James Avenue North.
"He's not a stranger to the backseat of a squad car or a jail cell. And I think
he's going to get a little more familiar with that again," said Garcia.
Gurneau will face multiple charges, including fleeing from cops and stealing
their squad car with guns inside.
"Who knows what he could've hurt. I mean, we have shotguns in the car. There's a
big safety issue there," said Garcia.