(KORN – Mitchell, SD) A man from Yakima, Washington is charged with Grand theft, Aggravated Eluding and Obstructing Law Enforcement after stealing a Mitchell Police vehicle.
Shortly after 11pm on Wednesday, an officer responded to a call involving a male individual on Mitchell’s east side. During the investigation Lyndon Martin Sohappy was detained and placed in the back seat of a patrol vehicle. He wasn’t under arrest at the time and was not handcuffed but locked in the vehicle. While officers were interviewing others related to the call Sohappy got a slider in the partition between the driver’s area and the back seat open, climbed through the 11” X 13” opening and stole the vehicle. Mitchell Police Chief Mike Koster says after a short pursuit, about five miles east of Mitchell on Highway 38, Sohappy pulled over and was taken into custody as he tried to run into a corn field. No one was injured but the vehicle sustained tire damage. Sohappy was taken to the Davison County Jail.
Grand theft and Aggravated Eluding are felonies. Obstructing Law Enforcement is a misdemeanor.
