SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — This was not a clean getaway.
A man suspected of taking unpaid merchandise from an Ohio supermarket was caught after his alleged getaway vehicle was trapped between other customers at a nearby car wash, authorities said.
According to a Facebook post by the South Euclid Police Department, the manager at a Giant Eagle store said she saw a man push a shopping cart filled with $498.41 of unpaid merchandise out of the store on Feb. 18. The manager alerted an off-duty police officer, who was working security at the grocery store.
The security officer said he observed the suspect pushing the shopping cart down the street and attempting to enter a potential getaway vehicle, WOIO-TV reported.
The problem was that the driver of the vehicle had pulled into the Clean Express Auto Wash while the suspect was inside the store filling his cart, police said. The vehicle was stuck between others and could not move.
Police arrested the suspect from the grocery store and charged him with theft, WOIO reported. The man also had an outstanding warrant, according to the television station.
The driver of the vehicle at the car wash also was arrested because he had an outstanding warrant from the Lakewood Police Department, police said.