(Earlier reports below)

NY1 reports:

An interstate manhunt has ended in Connecticut with the arrest of a Bronx man who originally escaped police custody in New Jersey by driving in handcuffs.

Jose Rodriguez, 27, is due in court this morning on fugitive from justice charges.

He was arrested in Uncasville, CT by the New York City Police Department Regional Fugitive Task Force and United States Marshals.

He fled police custody at a Fort Lee Holiday Inn yesterday, where he was arrested on a parole violation and a drunk-driving charge. He’s also a suspect in a shooting in the Bronx.

Police handcuffed Rodriguez in the parking lot and put him in an unmarked car. When they went to search his car, Rodriguez got into the front seat and drove off – steering with his knees.

Officers say Rodriguez then abandoned the police car in Ridgefield, and shed the handcuffs and leg irons.

The search for Rodriguez continued through the afternoon and into the night in Fort Lee and Ridgefield, even causing a 25-minute lockdown at an elementary school.

The NY Post Reports:

Cops are conducting a manhunt in New Jersey for Houdini-like fugitive from The Bronx who managed to steal and drive off with an NYPD patrol car — even though he was handcuffed and in leg arms.

Jose Rodriguez, 27, had been sought for questioning since the non-fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man on Nov. 1 at Pugsley and Olmstead Avenues in The Bronx, authorities said.

Three NYPD cops, including a sergeant, located Rodriguez at 1:15 p.m. today in his car and forced him to pull over in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn in Fort Lee, NJ.

They managed to put his hands in cuffs, behind his back, and attached leg arms, before putting him in the back seat of an unmarked police car.

Then they began search Rodriguez’s car and found a gun.

But somehow Rodriguez managed to get to the front seat of the police car, a gray Ford Fusion, authorities said.

One of the officers saw Rodriguez, his hands still behind him, use his knees on the steering wheel to drive off past the stunned cops.

Authorities said he managed to drive five miles, to Ridgefield, N.J. before abandoning the vehicle.

The officers found the car — with the handcuffs and leg arms inside — but no sign of Rodriguez.

There was a report that while in the car he approached a civilian and asked to use his cellphone but the civilian refused when he saw the leg arms.

Police were conducting a wide search for Rodriguez, who was wearing sweat pants. His last known address was 922 Bronx Park South.

In addition, to the Nov. 1 shooting, he was wanted on a DWI warrant and as a parole absconder arising out of a drug sale conviction.

WPIX Reports:

 An escaped suspect was being sought Wednesday afternoon after he managed to break free from officers attempting to arrest him in Fort Lee, New Jersey, officials said.

Schools in Ridgefield, Fort Lee and Palisades Park, were locked down for about a half hour as officers searched for the man.

A team of U.S. Marshals and NYPD officers were trying to arrest the suspect in the parking lot of a Fort Lee motel, after following him there from the Bronx. During the arrest, the man managed to escape from the officials, jumping into one of their cars and speeding away.

The suspect, who was not immediately identified, is described as a clean-shaven, 6′ 2″ tall Hispanic, last seen wearing a blue shirt and grey sweat pants.

Police found the stolen Ford Fusion in Ridgefield, NJ, near Prospect and Linden avenues.

Officers suspect he may have boarded a NJ Transit Bus bound for NYC. All buses crossing the George Washington Bridge into New York are being searched, and all drivers have been notified.

(Moshe Altusky – YWN)