By The JOLT Staff
A burglary suspect who used handcuffs to short out a switch and escape from the back of an aging patrol vehicle was recaptured and hauled off to jail.
The incident took place after Thurston County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the Black Lake area for a domestic violence order violation and burglary in progress at a residence on Monday, Oct. 5.
The unidentified suspect initially refused to come outside, but later gave himself up, was arrested, and then placed in the back of a patrol vehicle.
"While deputies were waiting on scene for the victim, the suspect swapped his handcuffs to the front, pried the interior door panel off, and used the metal handcuffs to short out the disabled window switch which rolled the window down," said Sheriff Derek Sanders in a social media post on Monday.
"This patrol car was an older vehicle in the fleet and was not equipped with window bars. The suspect fled on foot while handcuffed, commencing a multi-hour long manhunt in which the suspect burglarized a second house, stealing tools and clothes."
Sanders said he arrived at the scene to assist deputies, who were in the process of trying to line up additional resources.
"No air support was available, and (K-9) Mac was starting to become fatigued and needed to swap out. A few minutes after I arrived, a single gunshot was heard nearby by. I located a homeowner who advised they fired a warning shot to get our attention before pointing us in the direction the suspect fled toward," said Sanders in the social media post.
"After a short track, (K-9) Mac located the suspect under a porch and apprehended him. The suspect had a pair of pliers stuck to the handcuffs when he was (recaptured)."
The man was later booked into Thurston County Corrections Facility on a number of charges, including violation of a protection order (domestic violence), buglary and escape in the second degree.
"Never in my career have I ever heard of a suspect hot wiring a disabled window switch with their metal handcuffs, however this is a great example as to why the decision was made in 2023 to invest money into our patrol car fleet. All of our patrol vehicles come with window bars now," said Sanders in the social media post.
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