A man has been arrested after police say he stole a van from a Southern California mortuary with a dead body inside, returned it and then stole a different van from the same business.
READ MORE: Stolen classic car found; social media plays significant role
Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback said the theft occurred early Sunday morning after an employee returned to the mortuary after picking up a body.
“He (the driver) had just picked up a decedent and returned to the mortuary to pick up some paperwork,” Railsback told the Los Angeles Daily News. “He left the keys in the car but it wasn’t on or anything.”
That’s when the suspect, identified as Bobby Joe Washington, jumped in the van and drove away with the body still in the back of the vehicle.
About an hour later, Washington returned the van to the mortuary and stole another vehicle, nearly running over an employee as he tried to stop Washington from making a second getaway.
Railsback says an officer investigating the theft of the first van chased the second van for more than three kilometres.
Washington was arrested and is facing multiple charges including vehicle theft.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper reports Monday that stealing a dead body isn’t included in his list of charges because police believe he didn’t mean to steal it.
Comments