Washington Man Busted For Chasing His Stolen Truck
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With all the car theft going on in many parts of the country, people are understandably frustrated. One of the harder hit groups is dealerships, so when a man stole a Ford F-150 from a dealer lot in Eatonville, Washington on April 30, the owner chased the thief down. Now the dealership owner is facing a citation from Pierce County deputies.
Watch a Ford F-150 running from police shake off a few PITs.
Aaron Babcock, who owns Sunrise Auto Sales, told KIRO 7 he had the Ford truck idling in the lot when he ran into the office to grab “For Sale” signs. By the time he came back outside, a thief was in the driver’s seat.
Upset about the potential of losing the truck, Babcock pulled out a gun and pointed it at the thief. But the suspect drove off anyway, as if he were daring Babcock to shoot him.
Deputies started pursuing the stolen truck, and that’s when the suspect reportedly drove even faster, weaving around innocent bystanders. Realizing the chase had to end, deputies down the road set up Stop Sticks, but the suspect saw them and swerved around the devices, hitting another car before taking off again.
While law enforcement dealt with the accident caused by the truck thief, Babcock kept chasing the suspect. It took a bit, but he caught up when the Ford suffered engine failure, then held the suspect at gunpoint until police arrived and arrested the thief.
However, it wasn’t just the truck thief who picked up charges. Babcock was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and has to make a court appearance to explain his actions. Deputies claim he ran two red lights while chasing down the stolen pickup.
It gets even better: KIRO 7 pulled court documents and found the truck thief had his long list of charges amended to just second-degree stealing a vehicle. That was done without any explanation, so we’ll let you draw your own conclusions about the why.
Just keep this in mind before you try getting your stolen car back. In some areas you might get hit with criminal charges while the thief sees a lighter punishment.
Image via KIRO 7
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