Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Stolen squad car recovered near Carey

Jerome police claim alleged thief wanted to go back to Mexico

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By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

A man who police say wanted to be arrested and deported to Mexico allegedly stole a Jerome Police Department squad car Monday evening and drove it to Carey. The vehicle was recovered about an hour later by the Blaine County Sheriff's Office.

Guadalupe Cruz-Vasquez, a 38-year-old Jerome resident, was arrested on a felony charge of grand theft and transported Monday night to the Jerome County Jail. The squad car, a Ford Crown Victoria that sustained a broken window, has been returned to the Jerome Police Department.

Jerome Sgt. Duane Rubink said the incident started around 6:40 p.m. when Cruz-Vasquez went to the Jerome County Sheriff's Office on Lincoln Street and "demanded to be arrested and deported." When authorities declined to make the arrest, Rubink said, Cruz-Vasquez walked a few blocks to the Police Department, where he allegedly broke a window in the squad car and made off with the vehicle.

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Rubink said there was an active cell phone inside the vehicle, so police were able to track its progress and location. Other police were notified, but before the vehicle could be intercepted, it ran out of gas near Carey. It was soon discovered, and Cruz-Vasquez was arrested without incident, Rubink said.

"He just wanted to be arrested and [get] a ride back to Mexico, and this was how he arranged it," Rubink said.

Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com

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