Police car joy ride posted on Instagram and Facebook lands man in jail

A Clayton County man might have been looking for internet fame, but police stole his spotlight and made it brighter.

In July, a police officer left his car running while pursuing a fugitive near Ellenwood and didn’t realize it had been driven until video of the suspect showed up on social media.

Michael D. McGlory turned himself in at the Clayton County jail on Wednesday and was booked on charges related to taking the police car.

“He provided all the evidence we need to make our case against him,” Clayton Police Chief Joseph Woodall told WSB-TV.

On the department’s Facebook page, the department had a little fun at the 21-year-old McGlory’s expense:

“There once was a man who acted like a boy, stole our police car and recorded it with joy,” the rhyming post read.

An elaborate poem loaded with emoticons and images tells the tale of the crime that would have gone unnoticed had the suspect not posted his joy ride on Instagram and Facebook.

“His video won World Star’s number 1 spot, but none of it mattered the way we made his block hot. ... He seemed so excited to be in that driver seat, but he turned himself in before we caught him, guess he couldn’t take the heat.”

From Facebook’s audience the police prose drew praise, which led one poster to call for the author’s raise.

The Clayton police poem ends: “Had to be famous, had to get some clout. So here’s his mugshot, we thought we’d help him out.”

The chief told WSB: “Everybody wants to be famous, and he did have his moment.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 6:12 AM with the headline "Police car joy ride posted on Instagram and Facebook lands man in jail."