Released Man Left Jail In Stolen Police Car

APRIL 16--Moments after being released from custody, an Arkansas man yesterday stole a police car that was parked in front of the jail, earning him a return trip behind bars, cops say.

According to investigators, Cordell Coleman, 33, drove away from the Pulaski County jail around 2:40 AM in a marked Little Rock Police Department SUV. A police report notes that a surveillance camera recorded Coleman entering the unlocked 2018 Ford Explorer, which was parked near a jail sally port.

Coleman, pictured at right, had been released from custody following a public intoxication arrest a day earlier, records show.

The stolen vehicle had been driven to the jail by an officer who was assisting with the booking of a prisoner. “After completing the process, I returned to discover my patrol vehicle had been taken,” the cop reported.

Investigators quickly tracked the hot wheels to an apartment complex about 10 miles from the jail, where Coleman was found inside the vehicle. Coleman, who had been the last prisoner released from the jail, was arrested and eventually returned to the lockup.

While Coleman was handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser, a dashcam recorded a cop asking him, “What kind of decision-making you doing tonight, man? Why you doing that?” Coleman’s mumbling response was unintelligible.

Coleman was charged with felony theft. He is again being held at the county jail, this time in lieu of $25,000 bond. (2 pages)