Fleeing suspect attempts to steal Tampa PD cruiser

A 48-year-old convicted felon is facing a variety of charges following a bizarre incident at a Tampa motel Friday afternoon.

Lorenzo Bernardo Little attempted to flee the scene in a Tampa Police Department cruiser but was unsuccessful.

He wound up crashing the vehicle into a parked car in the 5200 block of North 15^th St. Little jumped from the cruiser and fled on foot but he didn't get far.

A K-9 Unit caught up with the suspect and he was taken into custody.

According to a Tampa Police Department report an officer on patrol pulled into the East Gate Motel in the 1300 block of East Hillsborough Ave. just before 2:30 p.m. after seeing the suspect in a verbal argument with a woman.

As the TPD officer exited her vehicle Little was observed shoving several items into his mouth. Witnesses told investigators the items were illegal narcotics.

The officer grabbed the suspect and a struggle ensued. Little broke free, jumped into the TPD cruiser and drove away from the hotel.

Officer Butler's grasp, quickly got into the police vehicle and drove away. As he was attempting to flee he struck and damaged a car belonging to a 79-year-old Tampa woman. The woman was shaken up but not seriously injured.

The TPD officer was transported to a nearby hospital where she was treated for a minor injury and released.

Little suffered a dog bite during apprehension and was taken to nearby hospital for treatment. After he was medically cleared he was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail where he is being held without bond.

The suspect is facing two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, one count of grand theft auto, one count of resisting arrest, one count of aggravated fleeing to elude, one count of hit and run with injuries and one count of reckless driving.

Little, who has an extensive arrest record in Hillsborough County, was also cited for operating a motor vehicle with a valid driver's license. He is also facing several drug related charges.

His arrest record goes back three decades and includes mostly drug related charges. Little has served five stints in the state prison system for a handful of convictions out of Hillsborough County.

In addition to the drug charges Little has also been convicted on grand theft, bad check and robbery charges.