A marked Broward Sheriff's Office vehicle disappeared from the public parking lot outside the agency's Public Safety Building in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, and was later found on Interstate 95 in Port St. Lucie, where authorities stopped it. A 42-year-old woman identified as Shannon Dillon was taken into custody, and she now faces a stack of felony and misdemeanor charges tied to the theft.
The vehicle vanished from the public parking lot outside the Public Safety Building at 2601 W. Broward Blvd., according to WPLG Local 10. A listing from NationalEvictions.com places the Civil Division public window at that address.
Northbound on I-95
911 dispatchers were notified shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday that the cruiser had been stolen, the outlet's report states. The vehicle traveled north along Interstate 95 before investigators located it in the northbound lanes near Gatlin Road in Port St. Lucie.
The Florida Highway Patrol, the Port St. Lucie Police Department, and the St. Lucie Sheriff's Office assisted BSO investigators in locating and stopping the cruiser, per the same account.
Dillon's Growing List of Charges
Authorities took Dillon into custody once the vehicle was stopped. She had previously been arrested in Broward County on August 21, though the report does not detail the earlier case. This time, she faces grand theft of an emergency vehicle, unlawful use of a police badge, unlawful possession of identification, possession or use of drug equipment, possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, driving with a suspended license, and resisting an officer without violence.
Florida law includes provisions addressing grand theft and defines law-enforcement equipment, according to the Florida Senate's statutory code.
Weapon and Badge Charges
Dillon is charged with possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon. The allegations also include unlawful use of a police badge and resisting an officer without violence. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement lists unlawful use of a police badge and resisting an officer without violence among the offenses it addresses.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said the investigation remains ongoing.
A Similar Cruiser Pursuit
A June pursuit in California also involved a Sacramento Police Department cruiser that appeared to have been stolen. A California Highway Patrol officer made contact with the vehicle, but the driver continued before eventually getting out near Turner Road, as Hoodline previously reported.
