Police Catch Man Who Escaped From Cruiser

Image: Mark Stephen Love (PWCPD)

The Prince William County police tracked down and arrested a local man over the weekend after he escaped from a police cruiser while handcuffed.

Mark Stephen Love, 24, of no fixed address, is being held without bond at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail, according to a police report. The police apprehended him on Sunday in Woodbridge and charged him with unauthorized use of a vehicle, felony escape from custody without force, petit larceny and driving on a revoked license.

At 7:31 p.m. Saturday, police officers were called to a residence in the 4300 block of Whitmer Drive in Dale City to investigate the unauthorized use of a vehicle. The vehicle’s owner told police that Love, an acquaintance, had taken their vehicle without permission.

The officers went to Love’s residence a few miles away on Joplin Road, where they found him hiding under a bed in a back bedroom, the police report said. The officers also learned that Love was wanted by another jurisdiction on an unrelated matter.

Making His Escape

He was handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a police cruiser, but he was then able to free one of his hands, reach through a window and open the door, the report said.

The police searched for Love on Saturday night in the Joplin Road area, with a helicopter and K-9 unit (an officer with a police dog) joining in, but he eluded them until Sunday.

Eventually, Love was located at a residence on Gordon Boulevard (Route 123) in Woodbridge, where he was arrested without further incident, the report said. His next date in court is July 29.