Police: Patrol car thief 'just wanted to drive around'

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Sept. 3 (UPI) -- A Florida man accused of stealing a patrol cruiser from a police parking lot told officers he "just wanted to drive around," North Miami Beach police said.

North Miami Beach police said the door of the marked patrol car "may have been unlocked" when Stalyn Enrique Hernandez, 28, found a key inside the vehicle around 5 p.m. Sunday and drove off, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

"Upon discovering that the vehicle was not where it had been left I began contacting my co-workers to see if any of them may have taken the vehicle for some reason," North Miami Beach Officer Felipe Hernandez, who police said is not related to the suspect, wrote in his report.

Officer Hernandez and another officer found the car in motion near West Dixie Highway and pulled the vehicle over.

"Hernandez then immediately rolled down the window and stated, 'I just wanted to drive around for a little bit,'" the report said.

Stalyn Hernandez was arrested on a charge of grand theft and taken to the Miami-Dade County jail.