PARK SLOPE — A 37-year-old man was arrested June 1 after stealing a Lexus that had been left double-parked and unlocked with the engine running, according to a police report.
Juan Verdugo was arrested about 2 p.m. after hopping into the unattended car near Fifth Avenue and Third Street, according to the report. The car's driver had left the Lexus to run into a nearby store, the report stated.
Officers responding to a radio call about the stolen vehicle tracked down Verdugo a short while later — the report doesn't specify where. He was found behind the wheel of the 2008 Lexus GS and arrested after a brief chase, according to the report.
Verdugo told police at the scene that he took the car because he "had an emergency," according to the report.
Verdugo was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.
He was arraigned June 2 and ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation, a spokesman for the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said.
Verdugo's defense attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services declined to comment.