(Painesville) - What’s better than catching a car thief on the road? Having the thief drive the stolen vehicle to the law enforcement agency.

That’s just what happened Thursday morning at the Lake County Sheriff's Office, according to a post on their Facebook page.

A female Painesville Twp. resident reported that an unknown thief had just stolen her husband’s black Dodge Ram truck from the driveway. The husband was warming up the truck before leaving for work.

The caller reported that her husband was trying to follow the thief in another vehicle. The thief was reported to be heading into Painesville City.

Deputies responded to the area, checking for the stolen vehicle. Lt. Jeff Sherwood was just getting ready to pull out of the Sheriff's Office parking lot when he heard tires squealing and saw a black Dodge Truck heading west on Mentor Ave. operating recklessly.

The thief apparently saw Lt. Sherwood and drove into the Sheriff's Office parking lot and traveled up and over a landscape island, after which the suspect bailed out of the stolen car.

Lt. Sherwood apprehended the thief and walked him into the sheriff’s office. The suspect was a 33-year-old white male from Painesville Twp.

The suspect was booked into the Lake County Jail and charged with Motor Vehicle Theft.

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