SLIPPERY SUSPECT SAYS HE WAS DRIVEN BY DRUGS, FEAR.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Staff Writer

With James Bond's cunning and Bruce Lee's physical skill, Steven Maurice Miko outwitted police by crawling three stories up an elevator shaft, tunneling to another apartment and hiding inside a mattress.

He used air conditioners to climb three stories down to the ground, set fire to an apartment as a diversion and nearly avoided a police dog's sensitive nose by covering himself in manure.

Even after the 36-year-old assault suspect was captured April 14, authorities said he somehow managed to remove his seat belt and leg straps, and then tried to use his watch to pick the lock on his handcuffs.

In a jailhouse interview, Miko revealed his secret: fear and drug-induced paranoia.

``They're making me sound like I'm some MacGyver,'' he said.

``All I knew is I had to stay awake and run away from them. I was flying by the seat of my pants, trying to stay alive. I didn't plan anything. Whatever I had to do, I did.''

Another reason may be that Miko could face a third strike, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Formidable opponent

The police admit reluctantly that Miko was a formidable opponent, and they warn he is a public threat who is better off behind bars.

``That guy is smoother than silk. Of all the guys I've chased, he's one of the wiriest,'' said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Ed Dvorak of the Palmdale sheriff's station.

``He's an intelligent guy - and that's what makes him dangerous,'' Dvorak said. ``We laughed about it and said you could probably make a movie off of this guy.''

If deputies wrote the script, the movie would end with Miko serving a long prison term.

Miko is charged with drawing a firearm in the presence of a police officer, attempted robbery, assault with a firearm, and two charges of being a felon or addict in possession of a firearm.

He pleaded not guilty to all counts during his arraignment on Tuesday, said Charles Klum, head deputy of the Lancaster office of the Los Angeles public defender.

Now at the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail, Miko reflected on the last few weeks on the run from authorities. Freed from his leg and waist chains, the father of three said a longtime drug addiction has gotten him in trouble since he was 11.

``I want a clean, sober life with my future wife. That's all I want,'' he said.

Hid in manure

When police finally caught Miko, he was covered in manure in a horse trailer, where he had gone to hide - and sleep. He said he had been on a crystal methamphetamine binge and hadn't slept more than four days during his month on the run.

``I thought I was a dead man. They caught me because I fell asleep underneath the saddle blanket. I just remember getting woken up to the dog chewing on me.''

Miko, a plasterer, acknowledges that he has always been hard-working, but could not stay out of trouble since 11, when he got hooked on drugs.

``I was just your average, rotten kid - always in trouble. I've been begging for help for years,'' he said from jail. ``Could you help me?''

Robert Kress, a longtime childhood friend to Miko, said he was not surprised at his buddy's sly tactics in evading police.

``He's a strong-willed individual. He was not ready to go to jail,'' Kress said while standing in line at the jail to visit his friend.

As a child, Kress said, Miko was fascinated with Bruce Lee movies and attended karate classes off Ventura Boulevard in the Valley.

Learned in prison

But Miko's sister, Beverly Ewing, 40, said it was not in any school that he learned his witty escapes, but rather in prison, where he spent six years.

``They made him out to be this major martial artist. He was educated in jail. He is a total product of the jail system,'' she said, adding that she could not recall why he was jailed previously.

His latest trouble started last month when a deputy responding to a domestic disturbance call said he ran into Miko carrying a gun.

But Miko fumbled and dropped the gun. The deputy ran for cover as Miko picked up the gun and fled with his girlfriend driving.

Miko argued he dropped a cellular phone, not a gun. But police said they found a round of ammunition that fell from the gun at the scene.

The next time authorities heard of Miko was April 1, when they say he kidnapped his girlfriend and stabbed her in the buttocks, Dvorak said.

Miko denied the allegation.

Authorities next saw Miko at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, but again he escaped, leading them on a wild chase.

He drove a stolen truck onto railroad tracks, dumped it and fled into an apartment. He stopped the elevator between floors, climbed out and crawled three stories up the shaft.

As police surrounded the building, he went into a vacant apartment, where he cut off his long hair, kicked in a wall, tunneled into the unit next door and set fire to the other apartment to divert police.

He then used air conditioners as steps to climb three floors to the ground - and to freedom, police said.

``He lands on top of a car and gets away,'' Dvorak said.

On the run, he then broke into a Northridge man's home, split open the mattress and hid inside as police hunted for him throughout the night, authorities said. The resident was not home at the time.

The victim, who asked not to be identified out of fear for his safety, said he came home to find his clothing, passport and money missing - and a strange man's boots in his dining room.

``He took every house key, everything you can imagine.''

The victim said Miko made himself at home once the police backed off on the search. He used his toothbrush and his razor to finish shaving his head, drank water and ate pizza.

His sister can only hope for the best now, although she worries about him returning to the bad influence of prison. ``Everyone's got to be responsible for their own actions,'' she said. ``But he didn't learn all of this from watching 'Bambi.' ''

- Staff writer Sylvia L. Oliande contributed to this story.

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Photo: MIKO