Man drives away from jail in cop car

BRAINERD, Minn., Nov. 28  -- A Minnesota man just released from a detox center stole an undercover deputy's car for the trip home, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department alleges.

Christopher Wayne Schwarz, 20, was re-arrested after a chase that lasted less than half an hour, the Brainerd Dispatch reported Thursday. He faces charges of fleeing a peace officer and motor vehicle theft.

"If you want to make a quick trip back to jail, that would be the way to do it," Sheriff Todd Dahl said. "You always read about something like this happening somewhere else, or see it on television, but you'd never think it would happen here."

Schwarz was originally arrested early Wednesday at the county detox center. Dahl said staffers called police for help getting him into a seclusion room. He was released in mid-afternoon.

Dahl said that someone had left the keys in the ignition of the car that Schwarz used for his getaway. (UPI)

General: 
Regions: