A homeless man was arrested in a stolen car the morning after a 2003 Chevy Malibu was taken from a Traverse City street.

The car had been left unlocked with the keys inside by its owner, a 16-year-old Kingsley male, Traverse City Police Department Chief Jeff O’Brien says. The driver reported the car stolen Friday at 10:30pm from a spot near Union and Front streets.

A Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s sergeant spotted the car the next morning at 6am near the law enforcement center and followed it to the Sail Inn parking lot a few blocks away, says Capt. Randy Fewless.

The suspect, a 36-year-old man who has two prior drunk driving convictions in Tennessee, refused verbal commands from the sergeant to get out of the car. He was arrested once backup arrived.

Officers suspected the suspect was intoxicated, but the man refused to taken a breathalyzer, Fewless says. The man also said he had no idea that the car was stolen and that he’d gotten it from other guests at a motel.

Deputies got a warrant for a blood draw to determine the man’s blood alcohol level. The man refused to cooperate at Munson Medical Center. Two deputies held down the suspect while his blood was drawn. He was taken to jail on charges of car theft, third-offense drunk driving and resisting arrest.