CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – Video obtained by News4JAX shows a man fresh out of jail stealing a Camden County Sheriff’s Office patrol SUV, deputies said.
Surveillance video shows Andrew Novak, 37, of Winter Park leaving the Camden County Jail. He had just posted a $10,000 bond after spending the last two days behind bars following a misdemeanor arrest for DUI and drug possession.
In the video, Novak casually walks over to a golf cart and sits on the ground. Then suddenly, he gets back up and starts walking toward a group of parked Camden County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicles. He then dips low next to a patrol SUV and can’t be seen on video. Then 40 seconds later, that same SUV backs up and drives away.
Investigators said Novak was the driver. No one knew about it until a 911 call to dispatch.
“Somebody else on the road said there was a patrol car driving recklessly on the road and they didn’t think it was right,” Camden County Sheriff’s Office Col. Chuck Byerly.
Then the deputy assigned to that unit had finished taking a report from a citizen and returned to where she parked the SUV.
“She goes out there and said where’s my car? A few seconds later, we realized oh heck,” Byerly said.
Deputies reviewed this surveillance video which confirmed the SUV was stolen. Then they got a phone call from someone at a wrecker yard in Kingsland.
“He drove our patrol unit down to the wrecker yard and went in and said he needed to pick up a car,” Byerly said.
That’s when the sheriff’s office called Kingsland police to show up and have Novak arrested. Investigators say he was attempting to get his car back after it was impounded following his arrest two days prior.
Novak is now charged with theft of a government vehicle.
Investigators said he might also face charges of impersonating a police officer if they determine he pretended to be a law enforcement officer when he tried to get his car back.
There is also now an internal investigation because it’s unclear if the SUV was left unlocked with the keys still inside or if Novak broke into the vehicle and hotwired it. If it was left unlocked, the deputy assigned to that unit could face disciplinary action.