Car Thief Delivers Food, Keeps Change, Cops Say

A car thief that delivers food is not a normal sight for cops, but police in Hartford, Connecticut say one alleged greedy crook didn’t stop at stealing a Chinese restaurant driver’s vehicle.

The car thief that delivers food, cops say, was set on not only scoring the Chinese food delivery guy’s vehicle but the proceeds of the food awaiting delivery within.

A brilliant scheme, perhaps — after all, what car thief delivers food? The crime may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but, due to proactive steps taken after the car theft and some decent customer service on the part of the restaurant owner, police were able to catch the chow-mein slinging crook in his tracks.

The fact the car thief was still delivering food after the vehicle heist was revealed after the crime was reported. The Hartford Courant explains that the driver called in the car theft immediately, and, when the owner learned of the situation, he contacted waiting customers.

It was then, the paper reports, cops were able to get a bead on the car thief delivering food. The Hartford Courant explains:

“Police received a call from a Chinese food delivery driver reporting that his car had just been stolen at Bristow Middle School on Highland Street after he had left it idling to run into the school, police said … The driver also called his boss at the restaurant to tell him about the car theft, so that the restaurant could call remaining customers and tell them that their orders were stolen along with the car, police said.”

“The people at the restaurant told the driver that one of the orders had been delivered after the theft, presumably by the car thief, police said.”

With two more car thief food deliveries on the docket, cops were able to catch up to the suspect, allegedly as he was about to deliver more Chinese food. Fifty-five-year-old Keith Hinds is accused of the car theft and presumably, unauthorized Chinese food delivery, and arresting officers say the man was in possession of drugs and paraphernalia at the time of his arrest.