Man says he stole car to trade for heroin, authorities say - Sun Sentinel

A man stole a car in Oakland Park and crashed into two vehicles as he fled from deputies Thursday, authorities said. He says he stole the car to trade it for heroin because he was "dope sick," a Broward sheriff's report said.

Fred Vanpatten, 25, of Port St. Lucie, was charged with multiple counts of theft and burglary, resisting officers without violence, fleeing at high speed, leaving the scene of an accident and other traffic-related charges.

The events began Thursday when he stole a woman's bicycle from a Pompano Beach home in the Palm Aire community and pedaled to a park-and-ride lot at 100 E. Cypress Creek Road in Oakland Park, the sheriff's report said.

While Dorrett Delreta Young was parked there near a Goodwill donation trailer, Vanpatten pulled up on the bike and asked her and the Goodwill employee if he could use their cellphones. Both said they did not have phones.

After that exchange, Vanpatten noticed Young's running car and darted into the Toyota Corolla, the report said. Young reported the theft of the vehicle, which was equipped with a tracking device that became activated after Vanpatten drove off.

As Vanpatten traveled along Interstate 95, between Cypress Creek Road and Commercial Boulevard, he discarded Young's belongings, including a cellphone and documents, the report said.

Deputies tracked the eastbound vehicle on Commercial Boulevard near North Dixie Highway. When authorities tried to stop Vanpatten, he ignored deputies in their marked units with emergency lights and sirens, it said.

He wove in and out of traffic, drove into oncoming traffic, blew past red traffic lights and crashed into two vehicles along Northeast 62nd Street, the Sheriff's Office said.

After the second accident, he got out of the stolen car in the 5900 block of Northeast 18th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. He ran off.

According to the report, Vanpatten tried to hide near a shed in a backyard, where he was found and arrested.

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/oakland-park/fl-oakland-park-carjack-heroin-20140207,0,6328010.story