Cops: Man swiped BMW left running outside store, but returned for his Neon

A man suspected of stealing a BMW from a convenience store parking lot early Thursday was taken into custody when he returned to retrieve the Dodge Neon he left behind.

Darrus Leavitt, 34, of Westfield Road, Milford, took a 2007 BMW Z4 that was parked outside the Cumberland Farms store on Kings Highway East around 5 a.m. Thursday, police said. The keys were in the ignition and the car's engine was running while the driver was inside the convenience store.

The store's video surveillance equipment recorded Leavitt getting in the BMW and driving off, police said.

The car's owner notified a State Police trooper who had just stopped at the store, and they both noticed a man -- later identified as Leavitt -- walking down the Interstate 95 exit ramp across the street from the store, and into the parking lot.

Leavitt was ordered to stop, but instead got into the Dodge Neon, which he had driven to the store, and took off, police said.

The state trooper chased Leavitt onto I-95, where he was eventually stopped near Exit 31 in Stratford, where he had to be subdued by officers using a stun gun, according to the report. He was brought to an area hospital for treatment and then taken into custody by State Police, who charged him with interfering with an officer and leading police in pursuit.

Fairfield police will apply for a warrant for Leavitt's arrest on larceny charges. The BMW was later found on I-95.