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Handcuffed Man Who Stole Cop Car Gets Caught: William Francis Blankenship Arrested

01/13/12 10:52 AM ET   AP

William Blankenship
William Blankenship was handcuffed when he allegedly stole a police car.

KNOX, Ind. — A man accused of stealing a police cruiser while handcuffed in northwest Indiana, then using the police radio to ask how to unlock the cuffs, has turned himself in after two days on the run, authorities said early Friday.

William Francis Blankenship, 22, was taken into custody late Thursday night at his family's home in Knox, a small town about 50 miles southeast of Chicago. Indiana State Police said cooperation from his family helped make the peaceful surrender possible.

Blankenship had been arrested Tuesday on drug charges at a gas station in nearby Kouts. Police said that as the arresting officer searched Blankenship's vehicle, the suspect somehow escaped from the police car's backseat, climbed into the front and drove off. He then used the police radio to ask where to find the car's cigarette lighter and a key to unlock his handcuffs.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost said Blankenship was being held without bond on a preliminary charge of auto theft and that no date was set for an initial hearing. He said more charges could be filed based on the police report, pending further investigation. He said there is no record that Blankenship has yet hired an attorney.

The officer whose squad car was stolen said he only realized the cruiser was gone when he looked up and saw the taillights leaving the parking lot.

"I probably had a really dumb look on my face for maybe half a second," Kouts police Sgt. Dave Johnston told The Associated Press earlier Thursday.

Johnston, an 11-year veteran, said he believes Blankenship managed to contort himself to get the handcuffs in front of him, then hopped into the front seat and put the car into reverse before pulling away. The squad car was found in a drainage ditch Wednesday, and authorities recovered the police weapons stored in the cruiser.

Johnston said he handcuffed Blankenship's hands behind his back and put him in the back of the running patrol car Tuesday night after spotting what he thought was drug paraphernalia in his car. The officer informed Blankenship he was under arrest, then went back to search the car more thoroughly. Johnston said he was searching for only another minute or two when he looked up.

Johnston said he was "a little embarrassed" because he knows a lot of people will assume he did something wrong, but he said he has been cleared of any wrongdoing by Kouts' police chief.

___

Associated Press writers Tom Coyne in South Bend, Ind., and Erin Gartner in Chicago contributed to this report.

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02:32 PM on 01/21/2012
He need to be on World's Dumbest Criminals...........Too Fun Knee!!
photo
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Nancy Carrita
sometimes my middle finger is just my middle finge
11:48 AM on 01/21/2012
nana's gonna be so mad!
09:47 PM on 01/15/2012
he WASN'T caught, he turned himself in . lets not give the cops credit that they DON'T deserve
11:44 PM on 01/14/2012
My son in law is a police officer, in a third world country, Haiti. He and two other police officers was guarding a prisoner, a man accused of been a kidnapper, he was in the back of the police car. Police car in Haiti is a normal car with no separation, the man was handcuffed in the back of the vehicle. Two of the police officers were helping getting a police commissioner car out of a tight spot, the third officer was standing outside. The prisoner, somehow, got into the front seat of the vehicle and took off. One of the officers said when he looked up; he only saw the tail of the car leaving the scene. All three of them, stand there with a surprise look on their face, they couldn’t believe what was happening. Here in this country, we have law; this officer was innocent. In Haiti it's different; you are guilty until proven innocent. These three officers, spend two years in jail, with the same criminals they have arrested before, accused of been kidnappers themselves. The chief of police have never lifted a finger to help these officers, at least conducting an investigation to be sure they are really guilty. One of them, married to a US citizen, has been barred from entering the United States The life of these young man was destroyed, due to a man that have no notion of the role of a Chief in relation to his officers.
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07:55 AM on 01/16/2012
And ?
10:57 PM on 01/14/2012
Give him 25 years in prison! That's a fair sentence !
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daveguin
06:49 AM on 01/15/2012
No problem Can you send a check to pay for it?
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triplettam
Mind Bender
04:44 AM on 01/17/2012
For? The paraphernalia or auto theft?
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jlplummer1
10:21 PM on 01/14/2012
Headline very misleading, the guy didn't get caught, he turned himself in. big difference. Now, how come the cop didn't secure the car like removing the keys out of the ignition?
07:26 PM on 01/14/2012
why r some criminals kinda cute? lolol! :D
10:58 PM on 01/14/2012
Cute? He's creeping looking!
02:01 PM on 01/14/2012
LOL....wow, who KNEW??? Poor baby....DUH...
01:36 PM on 01/14/2012
How come all the really cute guys are either straight, married, or handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser?
02:03 PM on 01/14/2012
you forgot...smart. maybe, this "cutie" couldnt get loose of the cuffs...
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emann38123
12:52 PM on 01/14/2012
He didn't "GET CAUGHT". He TURNED HIMSELF IN! Your headlines are sooooo misleading.
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tlpfliger
old fart
11:41 AM on 01/14/2012
..yep, they finally CAUGHT him as soon as he walked in and identified himself and gave himself up!
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Romano54
honor does not have a price
10:40 AM on 01/14/2012
I guess turning himseslf in is the same as caught? Who makes up the titles to these stories?
I was expecting a high speed chase and a shootout! Too funny!
08:27 PM on 01/14/2012
Couldn't be a high speed chase, it was the only cop car...lol
Mort Adela
Was a trapeze artist. Until I got dropped.
10:31 AM on 01/14/2012
This is what you get for leaving the car running. My wife left it running and ran into a convenience store for some milk. She called me a few minutes later and said some guy just drove off in her car. I asked if she got a good look at him and she said, "No, but I got the license plate number!"
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tlpfliger
old fart
11:42 AM on 01/14/2012
...time to pack yer bags and run!!!
09:59 AM on 01/14/2012
Don't be embarrassed by others assumptions let me assure you the Associated press is done covering this. It's time to assemble and assign blame appropriately. I assent and assert vehemently that this young man be punished in the hope that one day he assimilate into society.
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07:22 AM on 01/14/2012
he actually called the dispatcher to find out how to use the cigarette lighter ?? lol, wonder what the reply was ?
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08:09 AM on 01/14/2012
lolol too funny...and stupid all at once!!
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zevon
"He's Just An Excitable Boy"
08:49 AM on 01/14/2012
When's the last time you *saw* a cigarette lighter in a vehicle, unless it's just a port for recharging an electronic device. My guess is that this guy was ore apt to want to smoke up the remaining "evidence". ;/
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12:50 PM on 01/14/2012
last i knew these were standard in all makes and models of cars, one in my car and trk, see them everyday of my life, don't use them , don't smoke