Washington man steals a police car in Mitchell

MITCHELL, S.D.(KMIT)- A Washington man was arrested after stealing a police car in Mitchell. At around 11 PM on Wednesday night, an officer responded to a call involving a male subject in the 500 block of North Foster. During the investigation, the subject, Lyndon Sohappy of Yakima, Washington, was detained and placed in the back seat of the patrol car. Sohappy was not under arrest at that time and was not handcuffed. While officers were interviewing others related to the call, Sohappy opened a slider in the partition between the driver’s area and the back seat. He climbed through the opening and stole the vehicle. A short pursuit ensued, and Sohappy pulled over and was taken into custody. No one was injured in the incident. The patrol car sustained damage to a tire. Sohappy is charged with aggravated eluding, grand theft, and obstructing law enforcement.