Panama City, FL - Teen Steals Running Bay County Sheriff's Car - Crashes Into Fence and Barn
Teen steals patrol car, takes joy ride
Sunday April 12th, 2008
PANAMA CITY — A teenager took a joy ride in a Bay County Sheriff’s car
Saturday morning.
A deputy picked up Matthew S. Pettis, 15, in the Silver Lake Road area on an
order from Jackson County, said Bay County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ruth Sasser.
While traveling down U.S. 231, the deputy came upon a car accident and stopped
to help because no other officers were at the scene yet. The deputy left the
car running so the lights and sirens would stay on, Sasser said. After he got
out to help, Pettis climbed into the front seat of the cruiser and drove away.
Pettis eventually took County Road 389 to Lynn Haven, where he crashed into a
fence and a pole barn on Carolina Avenue. Officers tracked Pettis through the
car’s global positioning system and arrested him shortly after the crash.
Sasser said Saturday that she was unsure of Pettis’ original charge and could
not provide the name of the deputy.
Pettis was charged with grand theft, fleeing and attempting to elude and booked
into the Bay County Jail