Accused cop car thief's mom speaks out

ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - James Zalsman has an eight-year criminal past in Michigan, according to state police records, and his mother hopes his latest run-in with authorities will get him the help he needs.

Zalsman, 26, is accused of taking an Ottawa County deputy's cruiser and leading officers on a chase Friday afternoon.

While police saw Zalsman as a dangerous criminal behind the wheel of a the cruiser, his mother saw the act as yet another cry for help.

"Pretty wild," Rose Smith said of her son's latest crimes. "(I hope) that somebody will do something, the right thing. Not just throw him in a cell and shut the door."

Smith said she believes her son has a mental disability, although he has not been diagnosed with one.

"If he'd get diagnosed, we'd know exactly what's wrong with him, instead of always wondering, 'Is it this? Is it that?' " she said.

Zalsman was treated by a doctor for his mental health when he was a young child, Smith said, but since then, she has not been able to afford his coverage.

The prosecutor has authorized charges against Zalsman for the following: auto theft, fleeing and eluding officers, resisting and obstructing officers, two counts of felonious assault, three counts of malicious destruction of property and one count of domestic assault, according to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department.

Zalsman's criminal past includes two convictions for assaulting, resisting and obstructing police officers. He also has been convicted on four drug charges, a domestic violence charge and for breaking and entering a vehicle.

Zalsman also faced charges for obstructing police officers in Florida, Smith told 24 Hour News 8. HE is being held in the Ottawa County jail on $100,000 bond. Zalsman will be charged formally Monday, investigators say.