Joyriding in stolen Dillon police car lands boy, mother in jail

By Jamie Rogers
Morning News Reporter
Published: July 2, 2008

A 13-year-old Dillon boy was arrested after officers said he took his interest in law enforcement too far by joyriding in a stolen police car.

His mother, who police said saw no problem with her son’s hobby, also was arrested.

Residents called police Sunday to say they’d seen the boy driving around in a police car, Dillon Police Sgt. Jason Turner said.

Officers didn’t even know the car was missing until then, Turner said.

The boy had also taken the car the previous Sunday, drove around Dillon and then returned the car to the police station, Turner said.

Turner said the boy watched someone enter the code on the door of the department, memorized it and used it to get into the building to take the keys to the vehicle.

The boy had an interest in law enforcement and apparently had taken the car so he could do some patrolling, Turner said.

The boy’s mother, Patricia Gillespie of 114 Ruby Court, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because Turner said she saw the boy bring the car home on both occasions. She was released from the Dillon County Detention Center later that day on a $5,000 surety bond.

Gillespie told police she didn’t notify them because she didn’t see anything wrong with her son bringing the patrol car home, Turner said.

The boy, whose name wasn’t being released because of his age, faces two counts of grand larceny in connection with the theft, Turner said.

The boy also faces four counts of second-degree burglary for each time he entered and left the police department as well as two counts of petit larceny for each time he took the keys. He remains in custody at the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.

Turner said local officers knew the boy and said he was well-behaved until recently, when he began shoplifting and breaking into other buildings.