Man Joyrides In Dump Truck After Crashing Stolen City Car: Police

PETALUMA, CA — A man accused of stealing and crashing a vehicle owned by the city of Petaluma Wednesday morning was caught a couple hours later behind the wheel of a stolen dump truck, police said.

Officers responded at 8:30 a.m. to Shollenberger Park where the suspect, later identified as Jeffrey Brown, 41, of Hayward, reportedly crashed the stolen city vehicle into a fence.

Brown ran off because the car was stuck in the fence, police said.

Officers were sent to the 2000 block of South McDowell Extension where Brown was last seen, but the search was called off when they could not find him.

Two hours later, the owner of a dump truck called the Petaluma Police Department and reported their dump truck was stolen from that same area.

The caller was using GPS to track the stolen dump truck, and told police the dump truck was in Cloverdale — some 50 miles north of Petaluma.

Petaluma PD and the California Highway Patrol teamed up to track the dump truck, which was eventually found in Santa Rosa with Brown behind the wheel, police said.

Brown was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of vehicle theft charges and hit and run, police said.

Sheriff's jail records showed Brown was being held without bail Wednesday night pending a court appearance Friday afternoon.

Brown's booking charges also included joyriding and driving on a suspended or revoked driver's license, according to jail records.