AUGUSTA, Maine — The man who reportedly stole an Augusta police cruiser took the vehicle while it was unlocked and left running outside the police station over the weekend, according to court documents.
According to court documents, an AR-15 rifle was also inside the cruiser when the suspect, 27-year-old Kyle King, was driving it.
There is no indication he tried to use the gun.
King reportedly walked past the “police only” sign at the Augusta Police Department and into the area where the vehicles are kept.
According to court documents, King then got in an unlocked and running cruiser and drove away.
Augusta Police say the cruiser was stolen while an officer was taking a report in the lobby of the police station on Saturday morning.
The stolen car was equipped with a GPS tracker, which was used to locate the vehicle at the Shaw’s Plaza on Western Avenue. King was arrested without incident at the Shaw’s Plaza, according to officials.
King is currently being held on $300 cash bail at the Kennebec County Jail. He was charged with theft by unauthorized use.
The police cruiser was recovered and returned to the police department.
According to court documents, King told police he called in a welfare check on his neighbor but got tired of waiting for officers, so he walked to the police station and that’s when he spotted the unlocked and running cruiser and took it.
King then told police he saw a red car leaving the station, so he followed it to Shaw’s.
When asked why, King told police that he “wanted to help.”
Witnesses told police they saw King get out of the cruiser and follow a family into the grocery store. He eventually exited the store and got back into the cruiser before his arrest.
Chris and Adriana Jackson say they were in Shaw’s Saturday afternoon when King allegedly harassed them.
They and their two kids were walking through the parking lot towards their car when they saw King get into the stolen Augusta police car and begin to follow them.
That’s when they say police arrived just moments later, and they recorded a video of police putting handcuffs on King.
“I think that’s the scary part is that just as far as the kids alone, at least I was with my wife, so I feel better about that. But she does go out shopping a lot and I work a lot so she is alone with my kids so if they were alone in that situation, it could have been a lot worse. And it makes it worse that you never expect Augusta, Maine is going to have a stolen police cruiser,” Chris Jackson said.
Augusta Police Deputy Chief Kevin Lully says the department has started an internal investigation over the theft of the cruiser.
“We will have an extensive internal investigation to review policies and practices to make sure this never happens again,” Lully said.