Suspect said he needed handcuff key to ‘hold the steering wheel right’

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Updated: February 19, 2012 8:14AM

A handcuffed man accused of stealing a police car in northwest Indiana told authorities he feared his wife would leave him and he’d never see his newborn son again if he was arrested on drug charges.

Authorities said William Blankenship, 22, of Knox, Ind., radioed in from the stolen squad car to ask first where the key to the handcuffs was and then where the cigarette lighter was because he said he could think better with a smoke.

Blankenship, who originally was arrested for having drugs in his car, turned himself in late Thursday night, two days after police said he took the squad car in Kouts, Ind., 50 miles southeast of Chicago.

Radio transmissions released Tuesday by the Porter County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department show sheriff’s Officer Roger Bowles repeatedly urged the man referred to as “William” to turn himself in.

“I’m going to have to say negative on that one,” the man responded. “I’ve got a little boy at home. I ain’t going to jail for some [expletive] that ain’t mine.”

The radio transmissions show the driver then told the officer: “If you want to help me, you could tell me where a spare set of handcuff keys are so I can actually hold the steering wheel right.”

Minutes later, the man added: “Hey, if you can’t tell me where the handcuff keys are, man, just tell me where the cigarette lighter is in your car. I can think better if I got a smoke, man.”

Bowles urged the driver to turn himself in, telling him the situation wasn’t as bad as he thought.

“You’re not going to go to prison over that kind of stuff,” Bowles said. “You’re still going to see your kid.”