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Gainesville Sun
Friday, July 19, 2002
Police: Car thief stuck in neutral
By G.M. BROWN
Sun staff writer

A Gainesville man was discovered by police after he allegedly broke into
a car and couldn’t get out.

David Christopher Lander, 51, of 10013 NW 13th Ave. was arrested early
Thursday morning after he was locked inside a car he was burglarizing,
Alachua County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Keith Faulk said.

Matthew Cooper of Atlantic Beach, who was in town visiting relatives,
was falling asleep just after 2 a.m. when he heard the car alarm go off.
“I thought someone was trying to break into my truck, so I grabbed my
shotgun and ran out there in my boxers,” Cooper said. He discovered that
it was the neighbor’s car alarm.

As Cooper approached the car, he saw a man trying to kick out the
windows from inside.

“I went back and told my wife to call 911.” When deputies arrived, they
found Lander – locked in the car.

“He was trying to hide – all scrunched down in the back seat,” Faulk
said. “I guess he thought deputies couldn’t see him.”

The 1994 Infiniti is equipped with an anti-theft device that
automatically locks the doors when the car alarm is triggered, Faulk
said. When Lander entered the car, the doors locked.

“Had he pushed the button on the driver’s side door, he could have
gotten out,” Faulk said.
Cooper said he was amazed Lander couldn’t get out.

“He was intoxicated for sure. When the cops let him out of the car, I
could smell the alcohol all over him,” Cooper said.

The owner of the car, Sandra Boutwell of 10112 NW 6th Place, slept
through the incident, Cooper said.

“She got out there and couldn’t believe it,” he said. “She was in
shock.”

When Lander was arrested, deputies found in his pockets a pendant valued
at less than $50 and $3.21 in coins taken from the car. Lander was
charged with one count of burglary of a conveyance and one count of
theft.

In 19 years of law enforcement, Faulk said he has never seen anything
this dumb – “not where the suspect was caught because of his own
ignorance.”

“Maybe he needs a new line of work. He’s not very good at what he’s
doing now.”