Las Cruces Police: Woman Steals, Crashes Police Car

The problem with a morning cruise in a police car Thursday in Las Cruces was there was no officer inside.

Las Cruces Police said officers were at the scene of a crash on Missouri Avenue and Gladys Drive around 9:30 a.m. when one of them left their patrol car running with the lights flashing. For some unknown reason, a woman walking by jumped inside and went for a ride.

Megan Gutierrez, 29, is accused of taking the car. In addition to one count for auto theft, she is also facing a count of aggravated DWI and violating the terms of probation for a previous offense.

The brief joy ride began at Missouri Avenue and Gladys Drive, where she allegedly got behind the wheel of a marked unit, police said. She went south on Gladys. Speeding, police said, she then turned west on Wyoming but lost control when she tried to turn south onto Locust, where police said she crashed head-on with an SUV.

Both vehicles smashed into a rock wall in front of an apartment complex.

Police said Gutierrez then ditched the car and took off running until someone nearby tackled her to the ground.

Gutierrez?s motive for taking the police unit remains a mystery.

“It appears there was no motive,? Dan Trujillo, spokesman for the Las Cruces Police Department, said. ?There’s no motive at all, other than somebody wanting to take a police unit for a joy ride. It has to be traumatic for the victim of this crash right here because here is a marked unit that crashes into her.”

The 24-year-old woman driving the other vehicle was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.

Court records show Gutierrez pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon back in 2006.

She is currently held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center on $6,000 bond.