BARTONVILLE – An incident involving a speeding truck, a stolen police car and a search for the suspect involved led to the arrest of one woman.
Brittany M. Potter was arrested on charges of motor vehicle theft, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, driving with a suspended license, theft, obstructing justice and other active arrest warrants.
This comes after the Bartonville Police Department responded to a report of a truck “driving at a high rate of speed” at around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 16. The truck crashed in an alley between Madison and Monroe streets, and an officer was able to detain the occupant.
The officer was told the truck had hit and was on top of a person, according to the Bartonville Police Department. This was ultimately found to be untrue.
After the officer put the woman in the squad car and went back to check, however, the woman climbed “through a cage partition” and fled in the squad car. The police car was later found undamaged in the 100 block of Birch Street.
“Officers were then advised the female was seen walking in the 100 block of Lawndale,” a news release noted. “When officers arrived in the area the female fled into the woods.”
The Bartonville police Department received assistance from the East Peoria Police Department, Peoria Police Department, Peoria County Sheriff’s Department and Illinois State Police. An East Peoria K-9 eventually led officers to Cherry Street, where residents told officers they had given the woman a ride to Peoria.
Officers eventually took Potter into custody, and following an interview, she was taken to the Peoria County Jail.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Woman arrested, accused of stealing Bartonville police car
Reporting by Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
