01/01/17 New York City, NY – Handcuffed Gang Member Steals NYPD Marked Unit – Patrol Car Found 13 Miles Away In Yonkers – Escaped – Found Later

January 1, 2017

nydailynews.com

An 18-year-old busted for drunken driving in Washington Heights early Sunday made a daring getaway — in the NYPD police cruiser he had just been placed in, officials said.

Dekota Locklear of Lumberton, N.C., was pulled from his car after he stopped at a driving-while-intoxicated checkpoint with a 13-year-old passenger on W. 158th St. near the Henry Hudson Parkway about 2 a.m., officials said.

Prosecutors said Locklear had a blood alcohol level of 0.09, which is above the 0.08 legal limit for drivers 21 and older.

Cops handcuffed him and put him in the back of a police cruiser, but the booze-fueled Locklear had other plans, officials said.

With no partition to stop him, he crawled to the front of the idling cop car and drove off with it — nearly hitting a police officer as he sped away, officials said.

Locklear then took the squad car on a 13-mile joyride to Saw Mill River Road in Yonkers, where he abandoned the vehicle and ran off.

It was not immediately clear if he sped away with the lights and sirens blaring, officials said.

Investigators tracked the vehicle down through its GPS system and Yonkers cops found Locklear cowering nearby with the help of bloodhounds about 4 a.m., officials said.

Cops charged him with attempted assault of a police officer, grand larceny, reckless endangerment, aggravated drunken driving, escape and criminal mischief.

He was arraigned Sunday night wearing a black hoodie and faded jeans. A judge set Locklear’s bond at $50,000.

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