UPDATED with the name of the suspect.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 A 23-year-old man is charged with escaping custody and stealing a police SUV Friday before crashing the vehicle into a tree in the Marine Villa neighborhood.
The suspect, whom police identified Sunday as Ruben Oseguera, had just been arrested after a police pursuit and was in handcuffs. Moments later, he sped off, police said.
The dramatic series of events began shortly before 7 p.m. Friday when police responded to a report of a stolen Chevrolet Silverado in the 3400 block of Oregon Avenue, near Cherokee Street.
Investigators say the Silverado was likely used in a carjacking about an hour and a half later in the 2700 block of Keokuk Street. A victim told officers that two males had exited the truck with guns, and one of them struck him in the head before stealing his Chevrolet Cruze.
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The police report said that around 9:30 p.m., officers saw the stolen Silverado in a nearby part of the Dutchtown neighborhood before 鈥渋t fled at high speed鈥 when officers attempted to pull it over.
Police followed the Silverado to the 2900 block of Cherokee, where three people ran from the truck 鈥 including Oseguera, who was eventually arrested in the backyard of a home on the block.
Police recovered two guns 鈥渂elieved to have been discarded鈥 by Oseguera while running from the truck, including one firearm that was reported stolen from St. Peters.
A preliminary police report said that Oseguera was then put in the back of a police SUV, 鈥渉andcuffed with his hands behind his back.鈥 Yet moments later, the SUV sped off, as officers stood nearby.
The police vehicle was tracked to the intersection of Osage Street and Illinois Avenue, where it had struck a tree. There, Oseguera 鈥渨as still inside the vehicle and had somehow removed the handcuffs,鈥 police said.
He was 鈥渁gain placed in handcuffs鈥 and taken to a hospital for treatment, before being booked.
As of Saturday, Oseguera faces charges for stealing the police vehicle and escaping custody, while police work on additional charges. An investigation into the incidents is ongoing, police said.