The man accused of stealing a Dexter police cruiser while in handcuffs before crashing a second car has been released from the hospital and charged with theft of a motor vehicle, police said Tuesday.
Tyler Tibbetts, 22, was released from Eastern Maine Medical Center and taken to Penobscot County Jail, according to Maine State Police. He was hospitalized following a police chase and crash Friday.
Police say Tibbetts was handcuffed and in the back seat of a Dexter Police cruiser when he managed to squeeze through an 11-by-11-inch opening in a partition between the front and back seats. He stole the cruiser, which was later found abandoned off Parkman Road in Garland.
A short time later, police spotted Tibbetts driving another vehicle. When he refused to stop, police engaged in a brief high-speed chase through Dover-Foxcroft and Tibbetts crashed into woods off Bangor Road in Corinth.
Tibbetts suffered serious injuries in the crash and was pinned in the wreckage.
According to the State Bureau of Identification, Tibbetts has a criminal record that began in 2013 when he was sentenced as a juvenile by a judge for a burglary and theft. He served 18 days but violated his probation and was sent to jail for one year and a month.
Tibbetts later was charged by the Milo police with felony aggravated assault, was found guilty and served six months of an 18-month sentence.
In 2014 Tibbetts also paid restitution for a misdemeanor theft, and served 30 days in jail for resisting arrest.
His record also includes convictions for criminal mischief, another theft charge, violating the conditions of his release, aggravated forgery and other less serious charges.
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