Monday, February 12, 2007 7:03 AM EST
SANDUSKY
Perkins police said they don’t know what Andrew Bethard was thinking Sunday night when he allegedly stole one of their police cruisers.
Bethard, 18, of the 300 block of Water St., was charged with multiple felonies Sunday afternoon after he reportedly crashed a stolen Perkins cruiser into a house on the corner of Hancock Street.
It all started around 1:56 a.m. Sunday morning when Bethard was pulled over in a 2003 Ford driven by 17-year-old Chelsea Haynes.
Haynes was driving northbound on U.S. 250 near Strub Road when a Perkins officer pulled her over in a retail store parking lot for not having a working license plate light.
Haynes had one other passenger, a Sandusky woman, who according to reports was read her Miranda rights Sunday evening, but Perkins police would not confirm whether she was charged in the incident.
When he approached the vehicle, the Perkins officer noticed Bethard was smoking in the back seat and asked him for his identification to confirm he was old enough to smoke.
Bethard reportedly said he never owned any form of identification.
When the officer asked him his name, Bethard allegedly provided a false alias.
The officer asked Haynes and the female passenger if the name Bethard provided was accurate, with both saying it was, according to reports.
Bethard was reportedly placed in the back of the officer’s cruiser while the officer continued to question Haynes.
Bethard then reportedly crawled through the glass divider separating the front and back seat of the car and took control of vehicle.
He allegedly sped out of the parking lot headed northbound on U.S. 250, managing to elude Perkins and Sandusky police officers until he crashed the squad car into a Providence Road residence, fleeing on foot.
Although Sandusky police representatives said they arrived on scene only minutes after Bethard allegedly crashed, he was not arrested until at least 12 hours later when police caught him returning to his residence on Water St.
Bethard was charged with felony vandalism, theft, failure to comply with the order of an officer, obstruction of official business, reckless operation of a vehicle and fleeing the scene of an accident.
Haynes was charged with obstructing official business for allegedly lying about Bethard’s name.
Although Bethard reportedly had at least two active bench warrants and four different driver’s license suspensions, police are baffled as to why he would act so recklessly.
“I have no idea what he was thinking. It makes no sense,” Perkins Police Chief Tim McClung said.
McClung said the Perkins officer whose vehicle was stolen did not violate any policies of the police department.
“He didn’t violate any rules or standards we can see,” McClung said. “We’ll be looking at new measures we can use to prevent this from happening again. We’re just thankful that no one was injured and we recovered the car.”
The Perkins cruiser was towed back to the station parking lot with heavy damage to the front of the vehicle, McClung said.