A fugitive wanted in Georgia and North Carolina pulled off a daring crime outside Houston on Sunday, stealing a police car and a 12-gauge shotgun despite being handcuffed. But authorities nabbed him a day later.
Police gave this account to the Houston Chronicle:
Jacinto City police tried to pull over Donnie Lewis Knight Jr., 40, around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. He was speeding in a silver Kia reported stolen out of Georgia. Knight refused to stop and eventually crashed the Kia into another car before fleeing on foot.
An officer caught Knight and cuffed him behind his back. The officer put Knight in the back seat of the patrol car and went to check on the passengers in the car Monroe hit.
Somehow, Knight maneuvered the cuffs to the front of his body, climbed into the front seat and drove off. The squad car was later recovered outside an abandoned home, but a Remington shotgun was missing from the trunk.
Acting on a tip Monday afternoon, Jacinto City and Houston police surprised Monroe at his hideout and arrested him.
"He was very surprised," Jacinto City Police Chief J.M. Ayala told the Chronicle, adding police are still searching for the shotgun. "It all went smoothly."
A GBI spokesman told the Chronicle that Knight is wanted for larceny and theft in Gordon County. Records show he also has an extensive criminal history in North Carolina, including an outstanding larceny warrant from Greensboro, the Chronicle reported.
In addition, Ayala said, Knight told police he possibly had been involved in a homicide. No details on that case were available.
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