Volusia Co. , FL - Sheriff's Car Stolen by Convicted Felon Prisoner - Helicopter and Massive Search
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A marked sheriff’s cruiser allegedly stolen by a
man who’d been handcuffed in the back seat was recovered Sunday, but the suspect
remains at large, officials said.
Volusia County sheriff’s deputies and a helicopter crew were unable to find
the car in an exhaustive search Saturday night. It was spotted by Ormond Beach
patrol officers behind a furniture store about 12 miles from where it was
originally taken.
The incident began after an unnamed deputy was flagged down during a parking lot
fight Saturday night, sheriff’s spokesman Brandon Haught said. After breaking up
the argument the deputy learned one of the men involved, Walter J. Nutt, 29, of
Lakeland, had two open warrants for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
and violation of probation for retail theft.
The deputy handcuffed Nutt and placed him in the back of the patrol car. He then
stepped away, with the car door open and keys in the ignition, to check on the
serial number of a nearby vehicle.
Deputies initially believed someone else hopped in the car and drove off, but
now think Nutt, who is extremely thin, was able to kick out the mesh screen and
wiggle into the driver’s seat.
He likely unhooked the handcuffs using a key on the ring left in the car’s
ignition, Haught said.