A forklift operator at an Ohio auto body shop lifted an alleged car thief 20 feet in the air and held him there until police arrived.
The incident took place at Arlington Autos in Akron, who has reportedly been the victim of several recent break ins.
Employees recognized Alexander Funk, 26, when they saw him enter a vehicle on October 17.
A quick-thinking employee drove a forklift over to the crime in progress and lifted the vehicle off the ground entirely to make sure that Funk would still be there when police arrived.
“He broke into a car at the junkyard and before he could get out, he’s done it before, they got like the forklift and they had him like I’m not kidding like 20 feet off the ground, so when we got there we went right into custody,” an officer can be heard saying in body camera footage obtained by local news station WHIO.
Auto shop employees trapped a thief in a car by raising it off the ground with a forklift in Akron, Ohio, on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
(Akron Police Department, via CNN Newsource) #universebyu #byu #videooftheday pic.twitter.com/ulUoVOXbDq
— The Daily Universe (@UniverseBYU) November 3, 2023
Funk had allegedly robbed them before. In the footage, a worker can be heard telling an officer, “I was putting the car in the shop and he was in the backseat and we called the police on him. We were waiting for you guys to get here and he shoved one of my guys out of the way and took off running.”
The police dispatcher was also amused by the creative effort to ensure arrest.
“So, he’s still in the car about 20 feet in the air in the loader,” the employee told 911.
“Wonderful, that is the greatest thing I’ve ever heard,” the dispatcher responded. “We, we will get somebody out to you.”
Ohio car theft suspect foiled by quick-thinking forklift operator who holds him 20 feet in the air
911 operator, officers in Akron, Ohio laugh about theft suspect being nabbed by forklift pic.twitter.com/GoQRddgkBn— Paul Kang (@LPaulKang) November 5, 2023
Funk has now been charged with criminal trespassing and possessing criminal tools.
According to a report from WLWT, Funk had previously been arrested for drug abuse and entering a condemned building.
