A Ball State University student's joke ended with him on the ground wearing handcuffs.
Gavin Howell, 24, was arrested Sunday and preliminarily charged with theft, a Class D felony, after he took a police bike for a joy ride, Gene Burton, Ball State director of public safety, said.
Sgt. John Foster responded to a call about a fight at Dill Street Bar and Grill early Sunday, Burton said. Foster parked his Trek mountain bike - valued at $1,500 with about $900 in additions - in the parking lot behind University Square to handle the fight, but when he returned, he saw someone riding away on it, Burton said.
Howell said he was standing around with some friends when he saw the bike, and decided to take it for a ride.
"I was just kind of joking around a little bit," Howell said. " ... It was supposed to be funny."
Foster called in the theft to police, Burton said, and another officer stopped Howell a few blocks away in an alley on North Street.
"They tackled me like I was a football player," Howell said.
He had been at the bars with his friends, Howell said, but he had not been drinking. Burton said no reports indicated Howell was intoxicated.
Howell was released later that morning from Delaware County Jail on $5,000 bond, jail officials said.
According to Indiana law, if Howell is convicted of the Class D felony theft, he could face a sentence of six months to three years in prison, with an average sentence of 18 months.
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