Woman, 65, Steals Cab And Picks Up Fares Until ‘Bizarre’ Scheme Ends In Arrest

A 65-year-old woman stole a Philadelphia taxi cab and then continues on picking up fares as if it were her own cab. Betty Thomas was stopped by cops on Thursday in that stolen taxi cab and the police found that she actually had passengers with her.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chief Inspector Scott Small described this crime as “bizarre” and stated that he has never seen anything like this before. She appeared to know what she was doing, as she used quite the ploy to get possession of the cab.

Small said it was very unusual for someone to steal a cab and then drive around and pick up passengers as if he or she was a taxi driver. The cab driver picked Thomas up at her home in Germantown at around 10:30 p.m. to take her to the SugarHouse Casino along the Delaware River.

According to NBC News, the cab driver said she approached the cab walking with a limp. On their way to the casino, she requested the cab driver to make a stop at a gas station so she could buy a bottle of water. Small said the cab driver obliged and pulled over in the Hunting Park neighborhood area so she could get that water. This is where the events get a bit bizarre.

What happened next was all caught on surveillance video. The woman got out of the cab to go into the gas station/convenience store and because the driver had noticed the woman limping when he picked her up, he got out of the cab to assist her. The slow-moving woman was helped around the store for 20 minutes by the cab driver before they return to the cab.

Before getting into the cab the duo got into a dispute about the fare. The slow-moving woman was suddenly able to scramble around to the driver side door and hop into the cab behind the wheel. Off she went in the stolen cab, according to police, who later pulled the woman over with a fare in the cab.

Police found a 23-year-old woman with her infant in the backseat of the cab. The woman believed she just hopped into a cab with a legitimate cab driver who was taking her to her desired destination. This fare-paying passenger had no idea she had gotten into a stolen cab with the car thief behind the wheel.

Police: Woman Steals Cab, Pretends To Be Taxi Driver https://t.co/Oi0W6PluxN

— CBS Philadelphia (@CBSPhiladelphia) July 20, 2017

The woman and her baby were fine, no one was hurt in this very odd crime. Small called it an “unusual job with a happy ending.” According to NBC News, Thomas was arraigned late Thursday night by a judge for “theft and terroristic threats charges” and she was then released on her own recognizance, which is what the court records indicate.

[Featured Image by By Brandon Bourdages/ Shutterstock]