CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Sunday afternoon joy ride by an intoxicated man in a stolen Charleston Police vehicle ended with a crash near police headquarters.

Charleston officers were in the area of Brawley Walkway and Summers Street responding to a disturbance near the Transit Mall on Sunday when James Brandon Burdette, 25, of Charleston, climbed into a 2008 Dodge Durango Police SUV, car No. 219, and took off, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

Burdette backed the vehicle down Brawley Walkway and struck a tree before turning onto Summers Street and heading toward Virginia Street, according to the complaint.

Burdette turned right onto Virginia Street, traveling the wrong way down the main road and continued until he struck a streetlight pole on the north side of the road in the 600 block of Virginia Street. The vehicle finally came to a stop in the 500 block of Virginia Street, near the police station, according to the complaint.

Burdette fled on foot from the scene and ran south on Court Street toward Haddad Riverfront Park, according to the complaint.

Officers caught up with Burdette in the park and took him into custody. They noticed a strong odor of alcohol and noticed Burdette had glassy eyes, according to the complaint.

When asked by police if he had been drinking, Burdette told officers he had drank six beers earlier in the night, according to the complaint.

After performing a standard field sobriety test, officers determined Burdette had a "high probability of impairment."

He was arrested and charged with felony grand larceny and fleeing while under the influence of alcohol. He is being held in the South Central Regional jail on a $5,000 bond.

Reach Kathryn Gregory at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.