Hello Officer, Could You Please Arrest Me?

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Bad move: Asking a police officer for gas money when you're a fugitive from the law.

Two men and a woman wanted in Seattle for murder were arrested by cops while driving a stolen car last Thursday after they got out and asked a plainclothes Oregon State Police trooper for a few bucks for gas, according to The News-Review.

"It was a combination of luck, absolute stupidity on the part of some criminals and good police work," OSP Lt. Doug Ladd, told The News-Review.

According to police, the foolish fugitives pulled into a Chevron station at the Rice Hill exit of Interstate 5 at about 9:15 a.m. in a slain Seattle man's silver 2002 BMW 325 coupe.

The thick threesome then made the stupid decision to park one space away from a marked OSP cruiser — and directly next to an unmarked OSP Ford Expedition, police said.

A suspect later identified as Douglas Freeman, 31, from Portland, then allegedly approached Senior Trooper Nick Neville in the unmarked Ford Expedition and asked him for gas money.

It seemed quite strange to Neville and his partner, Trooper Brandon Boice, that a group driving around in a BMW would be begging for cash from other drivers.

"These were scruffy people who didn't fit with the vehicle," Ladd told the News-Review.

The pair ran a background check on the car and it came back as stolen: Taken from a 57-year-old man found stabbed to death Wednesday in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle.

The troopers swarmed on the fugitives — identified as Freeman, Richard Dwayne Schuler, 32, described as a Seattle-area transient, and Ashley Nichole Boggess, 21, also from Portland — taking them without incident.

It's still the subject of chortling at the station how easily the suspects fell into the hands of police, Ladd said.

"You can't make this stuff up," he told The News-Review, laughing.

Seattle detectives told Ladd that Jones will be charged in Washington with murder and Freeman and Boggess will be charged with rendering assistance.