Police car stolen and recovered

Riverside, Ca- A suspect in an auto theft investigation stole a Riverside Police unit from the investigating officers at about 11:15 p.m. Monday night, May 15, 2006. The vehicle, a marked 2001 Ford Crown Victoria, was found a short time later, undamaged, with all equipment intact. The suspect is still at large.

Two officers were checking the parking lot of the Sands Motel, 10625 Magnolia Ave., at 11:13 p.m., when they noticed a suspicious occupied vehicle, which had no license plates. A male subject immediate got out of the vehicle when the officers pulled up. The subject pulled out a cell phone and said he was calling his lawyer. While one officer was running a check of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), the subject spoke into his phone and approached the second officer. The subject then pushed the officer aside, jumped into the slightly ajar driver’s door of the police car, locked the doors and took off in a westbound direction along Magnolia Avenue.

The officers immediately broadcast what had occurred and the direction of the vehicle; neighboring law enforcement agencies were also advised. Another Riverside Police officer located the vehicle 20 minutes later at the American Inn Motel, 11057 Magnolia Ave., about one-half mile away. The key and all property were recovered at the scene.

The suspect is described as a black male adult, age 28-29, 6’ tall, dark complexion with short black Afro cut hair with a thin mustache and goatee. He was last seen wearing a gray long-sleeved t-shirt and gray sweat pants that had a dirty appearance. Motel surveillance video showed the suspect departing on foot, westbound along Magnolia.

Anyone with information on this incident or this suspect is asked to call Riverside Police Detective Steve Lee at (951) 320-8002.