Slow Getaway: Theft Suspect Pulled Over In Kid’s Toy Car
A suspected credit card thief was pulled over recently in San Jacinto County, Texas. This was easy to do, as the fully grown man was driving a bright pink Power Wheels electric toy car, designed for kids aged between five and 10.
The Mirror Online quotes local newspaper, the Eastex Advocate, as saying 26-year-old David Schumaker – who definitely bears no relationship to racing car driver Michael Schumacher – was pulled over while slowly making his way around Shepherd in the pink Cadillac Escalade toy car.
As the arrest was ongoing, an amused passerby caught the incident on camera, posting the image to the social media, where it went viral.
‘Driver’ arrested behind the wheel of a pink electric toy car https://t.co/3XB4iYuBnp pic.twitter.com/QJLCD6Z8e3
— Report UK (@ReportUK) March 2, 2016
Reportedly, police officers couldn’t quite believe their eyes when they saw their suspect trundling along in the pink toy car on the shoulder of FM 223 in Shepherd, San Jacinto County. When asked about the incident, a police spokesman said, “Yes, that story is perfectly true. We were just as surprised when the report turned out to be spot on.”
“Someone who was passing took the picture, and it has caused a lot of amusement.”
According to Deputy Nathan Deweese, he was the officer who arrested Schumaker, but not for his choice of getaway vehicle. The arrest involved a charge of credit card theft.
Schumaker allegedly stole a credit card from a woman in the area who personally knows him. Lt. David Lawrenz said the lady saw him go across the street, and then realized there was a problem as she got an alert on her phone, showing her credit card was being used. Lawrenz said he had received a number of calls about suspect driving around in a toy car.
Deweese said that after he was dispatched to Shepherd to investigate the amazing sighting of the credit card fraudster, he found him pootling around the neighborhood in the pink Power Wheels toy car. According to locals, this was Schumaker’s normal personal transportation around the area.
The image below shows what a real, full-size Cadillac Escalade looks like.
.@Cadillac Escalade retail sales were up 22 percent year over year for the month of February. pic.twitter.com/x89AkBPrNi
— General Motors (@GM) March 1, 2016
Reportedly at the time he was pulled over by the police, Schumaker was looking for a new battery for his toy car, which has since gone into another individual’s possession.
Lawrenz said, “It was released to a family member,” jokingly adding, “It wasn’t towed.”
Reportedly soon after his arrest in the pink toy car, Schumaker was taken to the San Jacinto County Jail.
According to KHOU 11 News, the photo of Schumaker in his pink Cadillac toy car went viral on social media, with thousands of people making fun of the credit card thief.
A friend of Schumaker, Chris Fuller, is the person who has since taken temporary possession of the toy car until his friend gets out of jail. Fuller told KHOU 11 News the credit card thief rides the toy car just to get around town and everybody teases him about it.
“One time I seen him drive all the way from Livingston all the way to here. I’m not joking,” adding that Schumaker always uses the back roads.
Reportedly, the distance between Shepherd and Livingston is around 15 miles, and according to Fuller, that is the route Schumaker was taking at the time of his arrest. Schumaker had told him of his plans, and Fuller had offered him the use of his van, but he carried on in the toy car instead.
Schumaker has reportedly been in trouble for theft before in various counties and according to Fuller is “developmentally delayed.”
According to San Jacinto deputies, Schumaker has since been transferred to a mental treatment facility in Livingston for an evaluation, and his friends say the credit card thief has been there several times in the past.
[Photo via KHOU 11 News video]
