Georgia cop car sold on Craigslist

By Christopher Seward

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

No doubt you can find a lot of stuff on Craigslist, even a Georgia police car, as proven by a recent arrest in Chattanooga.

Police officials in East Ellijay in North Georgia were trying to figure out how a cruiser that had been taken out of service and destined for the crusher ended up on Craigslist and in the hands of a Chattanooga man.

An officer last Friday pulled over Luke Ridings, 20, who was driving a gray Ford Crown Victoria sedan on a Chattanooga street, according to timesfreepress.com.

The car reportedly had the signature police bumper on the front, blue light, a siren, a dash camera and radar.

The giveaway, however, may have been the personal tag on the back that caught Officer Todd Clay's attention.

Ridings allegedly told the officer he bought the car, which had been put out of service because of electrical problems, on Craigslist for $4,000, timesfreepress.com reported. The vehicle was supposed to have been crushed by a towing company, but it had lost track of it.

East Ellijay and Chattanooga police were still trying to determine who put the cruiser up on the website, Chattanooga police spokeswoman Jerri Weary told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Efforts to reach a spokesperson for the East Ellijay police were continuing. The cruiser remained in the hands of Chattanooga authorities.

In addition to being charged with driving an unregistered vehicle, Ridings was charged with underage drinking.