Southern View, IL - Suspected Mental Illness Woman Steals Police Car - Hits Police Officer - Hits Other Police Car - 100 MPH Chase

December 13, 2010

sj-r.com

A Crime Stoppers tip led to Monday night's recovery of a stolen unmarked Thurston County sheriff's patrol car in the parking lot of a Lacey apartment complex.

A woman who later was arrested said she and another person stole the vehicle after they discovered it parked, unlocked, on an Olympia street, with the keys in a pocket of a coat in the car, court papers state.

The woman, Leah Moreno, 25, of Tenino, said she and the accomplice took a bulletproof vest and a zip drive from the car and planned to strip the tires and engine, then set the car afire, court papers state. The accomplice is identified as Daniel Conaty, 22, who has no fixed address.

The car was stolen Nov. 23 in the area of Eskridge Way and Maringo Street in Olympia. It was outside the home of a captain who works in corrections with the Sheriff’s Office.

The car was recovered at a complex at 1220 East St. S.E. after a suspect told a deputy where it was, court papers state.

The car was undamaged, Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain said Tuesday. It was missing the emergency lights off the visor and the rear license plate, court papers state.

Moreno and Conaty were being held Tuesday night at the Thurston County Jail on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. Moreno’s bail was set at $10,000; Conaty’s was $5,000.

A deputy found Moreno at a Tumwater hotel Monday night after law enforcement received a Crime Stoppers tip that she was involved in the theft and was there, Thurston County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said Tuesday.

According to court papers:

Moreno led deputies to the stolen car. She said she and Conaty had been prowling vehicles in Olympia when they came across it, and they initially left without stealing it but later returned.

Deputies found two other people in Moreno’s hotel room. They also found illegal narcotics, a stolen identification card and a stolen McLane Fire Department badge. The room’s occupants, who were not arrested, told deputies that “Leah and Daniel had stolen the vehicle and that they had started bragging about the theft around Thanksgiving.” One of the occupants added that Conaty was trying to sell the bulletproof vest.

Deputies found Conaty sleeping in a grocery store parking lot in Lacey and arrested him. His father told deputies he had sold the bulletproof vest; court records do not indicate whether it was recovered.



Read more: http://www.theolympian.com/2010/12/01/v-print/1458403/deputies-follow-tip-to-missing.html#ixzz16sFhRod2
A woman allegedly stole a Southern View police car Monday afternoon, eluding authorities at speeds topping 100 mph before she was stopped on Illinois 72 near Jacksonville.

The 26-year-old woman, who is thought to be mentally ill, was in the back of a locked squad car while a Southern View police officer was in the station trying to contact her grandparents just after 4 p.m., according to police.

The woman slid between a gap in the protective cage that separates the front and back seats and got into the front seat of the squad car, according to Sgt. Ricky Cathers of the Southern View Police Department.

She then backed up the car, which hit a police officer who tried to stop her. He later refused medical treatment.

She also hit another parked squad car while fleeing the lot, police said.

Other police agencies were warned during the high-speed chase on Interstate 72 that the woman had a history of mental illness.

The woman drove south on Sixth Street to the highway, police said. Once on the highway, the woman began to speed up to 70, 80 and eventually 102 mph, according to statements made by officers chasing her.

Several police agencies joined the pursuit, and the woman was finally stopped near mile marker 76 – which is the Ashland/Alexander exit.

The woman was taken to Memorial Medical Center for a mental evaluation, Cathers said.

Police said the woman is from California and was visiting relatives.

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