Man steals St. Charles deputy SUV, leads police on chase and crash in Metairie

Authorities say a detained man stole the arresting deputy’s marked vehicle and led deputies on a chase into New Orleans.

This began just before 5:30 this morning in St. Rose.

Louisiana State Troopers say a St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s deputy in another marked unit pursued the suspect in a stolen patrol vehicle. The deputy then crashed his patrol unit on Airline at David Drive, but he was not hurt. Two other people in another vehicle suffered minor injuries.

"That vehicle that was being pursued, the St. Charles marked unit, continued on into New Orleans and then to an unknown location," said Trooper Dillon with Louisiana State Police, Troop B.

A press release from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office says this all started when a deputy arrested the man suspected of doing drugs in his parked car at a gas station in St. Rose. It says the deputy handcuffed the man and detained him in the back of his patrol vehicle. That is when they say the man then drove off in the deputy’s marked unit, leading to the chase and crash in Metairie.

Deputies later recovered the stolen deputy unit. It was found parked on Toledano at Chippewa in the Garden District. Authorities are still searching for the fugitive.

Here is business security camera video of the suspect who stole a St. Charles Sheriff’s deputies in St. Rose this morning. The video shows him ditching the police SUV in the 700 block of Toledano in New Orleans. ⁦@WWLTV⁩ pic.twitter.com/krZJmdeAeg

— Paul Murphy (@PMurphyWWL) February 3, 2020

"The suspect is described as a white male, believed to be in his late 20’s or early 30’s.  The male is described as being 110 lbs, and approximately 5’9” with dark colored, possibly brown hair above his hears.  The suspect has a thin mustache and may still be handcuffed," according to Major Donnie Smith with the St. Charles Sheriff's Office.

He says the suspect may or may not still be handcuffed.

"He was initially cuffed behind his back, and then he was placed in the rear of the unit and the seatbelt placed over him," Smith explained. "He either was able to get out of the handcuffs or he brought them around over his legs."