15-Year-Old Girl Back In Police Custody After Escaping Squad Car In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A 15-year-old girl is back in police custody after escaping from a squad car Monday in the Bronx.
She was handcuffed behind her back when she broke free around 8:30 p.m. near 172nd Street and Sheridan Avenue in the Mount Eden section.
Police said the teen and another suspect had stolen a cellphone from someone who arranged to sell it to them through Facebook. She was taken into custody about 30 minutes later. The other suspect has not been caught.
Sources told CBS2 it appears the squad car's door was not properly closed and the lock did not latch. The girl allegedly used her shoulder to push the door open and ran off.
"I heard the noise and the cops passing, I checked through my fire escape and I see running around the cops, detectives, blocking the street and everything," resident Jose Germosen told CBS2's Clark Fouraker.
"I saw a couple of cops walking down the block, couple of cops down this block," resident Josafat Melendez said.
Police found the girl nearly 12 hours later inside a building near East 170th Street and Grand Concourse. She's now facing additional charges for evading police.
"No, it doesn't look good on the NYPD, but I don't know what happened," said Felice Blackledge, who works nearby.
The two officers who failed to secure the teen have turned in their guns and shields, and have been assigned to desk duty.
