Man drove stolen car to police headquarters to retrieve documents he'd left in another stolen car

A Florida man is back in jail after police say he left paperwork with his name on it inside a car he’s accused of stealing. St. Petersburg police officers arrested Carnell Eugene Butler, 18, after he drove a second stolen car to police headquarters. On Oct. 4th, St. Petersburg Police officers say they recovered an abandoned Infiniti.

Officers say they found personal items and a packet of court documents belonging to Butler inside the car. Officers tried, but were unable to locate Butler. Investigators say on Oct. 6th, Butler stole a Hyndai Sonata from a home in the Placido Bayou area. On Oct. 6th, a St. Petersburg Police Department detective contacted a relative at Butler’s home and left a message for Butler.



Butler called the detective back, and arranged to go to headquarters to pick up personal items from a previous arrest in June. When he arrived, the detective arrested him and found the keys to the stolen Sonata in his pocket. Acting on a hunch, the detective found the Sonata parked a block away from police headquarters. It turned out that Butler had driven the stolen car to the police department. Police say they also found a stolen bicycle at Butler’s home.

The bicycle had been stolen from an open garage in Placido Bayou. In both cases of the stolen cars, the vehicles were left unlocked, with the keys inside. Police arrested Butler for two counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle, violation of probation, and two counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling. Detectives say the crimes occurred in the Placido Bayou neighbourhood. Police say Butler was already on probation for previously stealing a car in June.