Wheelchair-bound shoplifter apprehended
Canadian Press
April 09, 2002 17:51:44

COLLINGWOOD, Canada - It was a police chase of a different kind after the suspected thief fled the scene in a motorized wheelchair.

A grocery store reported a theft Wednesday and described the thief as riding a motorized wheelchair with an orange safety flag.

A police officer was immediately dispatched.

A nursing home resident in the wheelchair "was reined in," and charged with theft under $5,000, Constable Steve Hardisty said Thursday.

While the officer issued an appearance notice, a bystander gave the elderly man $20 to put toward his defense because, Hardisty said, he thought the man was being cruelly cited for a traffic violation.

The man in the wheelchair pocketed the money and left.