The Subaru SVX World Network

I present nominee #1 for the dumbest car thief:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/14228182.htm

Quote:

Car thief drove evidence to court
A man with a history of stealing cars allegedly stole a vehicle to make a court date, but was foiled by police in the Justice Building's car lot.
BY CHARLES RABIN
crabin@MiamiHerald.com

COURTESY OF NBC NEWS
SMART MOVE: Thomas Minks, who has a history of car theft, allegedly stole a car in order to get to court on time to face charges for -- of course -- car theft. Thomas Minks has a history of stealing cars.

He is alleged to have stolen another one Thursday, this time in order to get to court on time to face charges -- for stealing a car.

Minks' latest exploit played out in front of dozens of lawyers, cops and civilians as police caught up with him in the parking lot of the Miami-Dade Justice Building.

A Global Positioning System device in the vehicle led police to Minks, who was driving a 2002 S500V Mercedes Sedan that did not belong to him.

He was finally arrested after trying to flee police and being subdued by a stun gun.

''He almost ran over two officers,'' said Miami police spokeswoman Herminia Salas-Jacobson.

For his latest transgressions, Minks, 32, of 3130 SW 120th Ct., faces charges that include two counts of aggravated assault on police officers and single counts of grand theft auto and fleeing and eluding police officers.

He's been arrested numerous times since a 1992 burglary charge. Before Thursday, his most recent arrest was in Miami-Dade on Jan. 6, for stealing a vehicle and battery on a firefighter. He allegedly stole another vehicle in June of 2005, also in Dade, but those charges were later dropped.

CRACK PLAYED PART

Police questioned Minks for several hours Thursday before he was taken to the county jail.

Thursday's events began shortly before 1 p.m. That's when Minks -- according to an interview he gave to a WPLG-Channel 10 news crew -- said he was at a crack house and realized he had to be in court for a hearing.

''I'm still half-way cracked up when I got here,'' Minks said, handcuffed, as he was being placed into a police car.

County records show Minks was due before Miami-Dade County Judge Jorge Lopez to face theft and car theft charges from the Jan. 6 incident.

Minks said with no ride around, he stole the Mercedes. Police would not release the address where the car was stolen.

County records show it belongs to 70-year-old Lucas Evelio Hernandez of Southwest Miami-Dade. A woman who answered the phone there would not comment.

Little of what took place between the time Minks stole the car and when he got to the parking lot of the Justice Building is known.

TRACKER IN CAR

But after being alerted by the company that runs the Mercedes' GPS system, Miami police didn't have to travel far as they traced Minks' progress. They were able to block Minks before he could escape the lot next to the state attorney's office and behind the county courthouse.

Still, he tried, unsuccessfully wedging the car between two city of Miami patrol units. Police used stun guns on Minks to subdue and arrest him. The owner of the Mercedes later showed up and identified the vehicle as his.

Minks' arrest was part of an unusual day at court, noted one long-time observer.

''Not only did that go down, but a woman went into labor at the same time, almost at the same place,'' in the Justice Building parking lot, said Gary Montanari, a bailiff in Miami-Dade County Court Judge Steve Leifman's court. ``Her water broke and she was having contractions every three minutes. It was crazy.''