Suspect Steals Orange County, CA Squad Car. Police find stolen 9MM handgun and smoke grenade.
Found on 02/04/05 - By Claire Luna, Times Staff Writer
A man suspected of drunk driving stole a squad car after wriggling through the plexiglass partition from the backseat, officials said.
The deputies placed Raymond Samuel Gurule, 40, in the squad car's back seat
about 1:15 a.m. while they searched his car.
After Gurule took the patrol car, he drove south on the freeway and exited at
Tustin Ranch Road, said Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Ted Boyne. Authorities
chased him in a Tustin police car, which had been called for backup when Gurule
was first pulled over. He drove over a center divider, deflating one of the
car's tires, and ran away.
Officers from Irvine, Tustin, the Sheriff's Department and the California
Highway Patrol set up a perimeter near the Tustin Auto Mall and found Gurule
within 15 minutes, hiding in bushes, Boyne said.
Police found two grams of methamphetamine, a stolen 9-millimeter handgun and
a smoke-dispensing grenade, Boyne said. A bomb squad disposed of the grenade, a
type mostly used by police for crowd control.
Gurule, who had been on parole for assaulting a police officer in Los Angeles
County, is being held on $20,000 bail at Orange County Jail. He faces six felony
charges, including stealing a law enforcement vehicle and possessing a stolen
firearm.