If you're stopped by Boston police at 3:30 AM while pushing home an electric scooter that you've just stolen, here's a helpful tip. Don't tell them you're just pushing it to AutoZone to charge it. They will not believe you.
Here's the full story from the files of the Boston Police Department:
At about 3:25am, on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, officers from Area B-2 (Roxbury) were on patrol in the area of Warren & Wyoming Streets when the officers observed two individuals, one of which was pushing a black scooter on the sidewalk. Given the time of night and the fact that the individual was pushing the scooter, as opposed to riding it, officers stopped to see if everything was okay. Upon approaching the suspects, the officers noted and observed that both individuals appeared to be extremely nervous. When officers asked why they were pushing the scooter, one of the individuals replied, "The battery is dead so I'm pushing it to Auto Zone to charge it up."
Given the time of day, officers knew that the Auto Zone was closed. Moreover, officers also knew that the suspects were, in fact, pushing the scooter in a direction that was taking them away from the store. When asked who owned the scooter, one of the suspects stated it was his. When asked to produce a key, the suspect stated he misplaced it. When asked to produce any proof of ownership, suspect stated that he had papers at his house. While looking at the scooter, officers noted that the ignition appeared to be recently damaged.
While talking to the suspects, officers noted what appeared to be a bulge in the waist area of one of the suspects. When asked if they were in possession of any weapons, one of the suspects stated, "Yeah. I have a knife and a screwdriver."
Officers arrested Shawn Hussey, 19, of Boston and Sam Milton, 19, of Boston and charged both with Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle (scooter) and Possession of Burglarious Tools. During the booking process, one of the suspects admitted to having stolen the scooter.
(Hat tip to Micki!)
Photo Credit: CarnagerSDV / Flickr