LIVERMORE FALLS – A Livermore Falls man in handcuffs escaped from a police cruiser Wednesday night after an officer went to talk to a Cumberland Farms clerk about thefts from the store.

The escapee was on the run for nearly four hours before he turned himself in.

Ryan Jolicoeur, 21, originally arrested on a charge of violation of bail conditions, was charged early Thursday with two additional charges: escape and criminal mischief, after he turned himself into police at the station, police Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said.

Jolicoeur was still wearing the handcuffs when he gave up, but the chain that connects them had been cut or broken, police said.

Officer Jason Miller spotted Jolicoeur on the store grounds and went to serve a trespassing warning to him, Steward said. The company did not want Jolicoeur on its property, he said.

Due to a prior charge, Jolicoeur’s bail conditions included no possession or use of alcohol and random search and testing, the chief said.

Miller did a random search of Jolicoeur and found at least one Corona beer and ice cream treats in his pockets that apparently came from Cumberland Farms, Steward said.

Jolicoeur was put under arrest, handcuffed and placed in the back seat of the cruiser while Miller went to speak to the store clerk about the possible suspected theft, he said.

Jolicoeur escaped the cruiser and took off, triggering a police search of the area.

Steward said a new computer system was installed in the cruiser Wednesday morning and the child safety locks must have been de-activated, otherwise Jolicoeur wouldn’t have been able to open the door from the back seat.

He escaped about 8:29 p.m.

A tracking dog was called in and was en route from Avon when police got further information on Jolicoeur’s whereabouts, Steward said. The dog was canceled and Jolicoeur turned himself in at 12:26 a.m. Thursday, he said.

Jolicoeur was taken to Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn and was still there Thursday afternoon.

There was no bail on the bail violation and $540 cash bail on the escape and criminal mischief charge, a corrections officer at the jail said.