Suspect Who Fled Patrol Car Is Caught

A handcuffed suspect who escaped Saturday morning from a Los Angeles County sheriff’s patrol car in Palmdale was caught 14 hours later and nearly 60 miles away in Lawndale, authorities said.

Mark Pomeroy, 34, escaped from the patrol car by kicking out a window after deputies left him alone.

Pomeroy was initially arrested at a motel in the 500 block of West Palmdale Boulevard about 5 a.m. on suspicion of stalking and threatening a former girlfriend.

Deputy Alan Dollins handcuffed Pomeroy and put him in the back seat of his patrol car, then returned to the motel to conduct his investigation, said Sgt. David Sauer. Three other deputies remained outside to watch the suspect, Sauer said.

As they waited, the deputies responded to burglary calls, each assuming someone was staying behind to supervise Pomeroy, Sauer said.

“That’s kind of the embarrassing part,” he said. “There was a kind of miscommunication.”

Authorities tracked Pomeroy to a motel in the 14900 block of Hawthorne Boulevard, where he was captured without incident about 7:30 p.m., said Sgt. Robert Norris of the Lennox sheriff’s station. The suspect was no longer wearing the handcuffs.