Wanted Suspect Stole Police Car, Escapes In Handcuffs: Police

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte police say they are considering modifying partitions inside patrol cars after a handcuffed suspect placed in the backseat of an officer’s car was able to get his arms in front of him and squeeze through to the front seat and steal the vehicle Tuesday.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are now asking for the public’s help in locating that suspect, 20-year-old Dontray Antonio Pharr.

Officers pulled Pharr over in a traffic stop around 4 p.m. July 24 in the 4000 block of Sunset Road in north Charlotte. He was placed under arrest, and was handcuffed behind his back when he was placed in the back of the police cruiser while officers searched his vehicle, CMPD said in a statement Wednesday.

“While the officers were searching, the suspect was able to move his handcuffs in front of him and squeeze through a very small window in the interior of the patrol car that was open to allow air conditioning into the prisoner area,” CMPD said.

Pharr then took off in the patrol car.

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The police car was found abandoned “a short time later,” in west Charlotte, at Hidden Creek Drive and Tansy Drive, according to police. A K-9 team and aviation unit searched the area but were unable to locate him.

Pharr has multiple, active warrants against him, according to CMPD, for larceny of a motor vehicle, possession of counterfeit instruments, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, resist delay obstruct, flee to elude arrest, impersonating law enforcement, aggressive driving and injury to personal property.

CMPD asks that anyone with information about Pharr’s location contact Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, or call 911.

Photo courtesy of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office