Austin Jeremiah Lodge allegedly stole a car of police after being placed under arrest for shoplifting and for possessing drugs.
On Wednesday, November 4, officials said that they were dispatched to a Walmart where Lodge was allegedly shoplifting. According to the police report, he had an active warrant for his arrest, and officers were aware of him from prior investigations.
Lodge was resisting arrest, but police could get him into handcuffs. Officers say they discovered what they believed to be heroin in his pants pockets. He was believed to be under the influence of an opiate.
While in the back seat of the police car, Lodge took off his seatbelt and was moving around. Officers say they immediately pulled over and stopped the vehicle.
Officers pulled Lodge out of the car and Lodge was kicking the officers when they were trying to restrain him. Once restrained, the officers put him back in the car. Lodge told the officers that he dropped his false teeth while outside of the vehicle.
Officers say that when they went to search for Lodge’s false teeth, Lodge jumped into the driver seat of the police car and, after a struggle, started driving with one of the officers still in the car. The officer said that he was able to turn the steering wheel to the right, keeping the vehicle off of the road. The police car struck into a wood pole and both Lodge and an officer were admitted to the hospital.
The damage to the police car was roughly $3,000.
Lodge was arrested for attempted escape, fleeing from an officer, DUI, destruction of property, and possession with the aim to deliver heroin. He is being held at North Central Regional Jail, Greenwood, West Virginia.
