Handcuffed Monrovia woman steals police cruiser
PENDLETON, Ind (WISH) — It sounds like a script from an action movie.
Police say a handcuffed Monrovia woman stole a police cruiser and led officer on a chase before jumping from the moving vehicle.
The initial stop happened around 11 p.m. Friday off of State Road 38 near I-69 in Pendleton. Police from six different agencies were involved, including Indiana State Police and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman is now behind bars, but she didn’t go down without a fight.
“I just heard that all of the police were there, but they didn’t say why,” said Rita Logan, who works at McDonalds in Pendleton, where it all started. “I just figured they came in for coffee last night.”
But they had more on their agenda than coffee. In the restaurant parking lot, police pulled over a vehicle that had been reported stolen. Three people were inside. Police put handcuffs on all of them, including 21-year old Tori Hostetler, who was placed in the back of a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office cruiser.
Authorities say she lied about her name, so the deputy watching her stepped out of the vehicle to talk to the other officers at the scene. Police say Hostetler was then able to get out of the handcuffs and behind the wheel of the deputy’s SUV.
“What happened to the handcuffs? How did she get out of the handcuffs? Wow! That is amazing. That is totally amazing,” said Shonna Jones, who was in shock to hear of the incident.
Hostetler headed east on State Road 38, according to police, about 20 miles to Henry County. With authorities hot on her tail, they say she jumped out of the moving vehicle. The SUV crashed and Hostetler ran.
“She had to really been watching too many movies to do that, because it’s impossible. Who thinks like that, logically?” Jones asked in disbelief.
Logan added, “She probably saw it on a movie. People do these tricks when they see it on TV. They really do.”
Even with police dogs and extra patrols, officials weren’t able to find her.
“I know it’s scary if they can get away with handcuffs [on],”said Logan.
Saturday morning, a homeowner tipped off police with information on Hostetler’s whereabouts. She was arrested and taken into custody not far from where she was last seen, in Henry County at a home on 200 North.
Police say Hostetler has a thin build and perhaps that’s how she was able to get out of the handcuffs. She has two felony warrants out of Hendricks County for resisting law enforcement and a probation violation for dealing marijuana.
Hostetler now faces six more felony charges of vehicle theft and resisting law enforcement as well as several traffic violations. She was taken to the Henry County jail.