Sunday, July 25, 2021

Idiot of the Week; Woman Steals Truck, Endangers People, Arrested with Chicken Nuggets at McDonald's DriveThru

Crooks are stupid, and this one is a good example. A woman in Massachusetts stole a company vehicle (that had GPS on it), and faces 15 charges. The idiot was caught in a McDonald's Drive Thru. Here's the story from the Boston Globe newspaper on-line.

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(Image: 38-year-old Johanna Gardell of Oriol Drive in Worcester. Credit; WCVB-TV, Boston) 

A 2-hour chase for a stolen truck ended in a Worcester McDonald’s drive-thru "

She was ordering chicken nuggets and they actually held her up." 

By Mia McCarthyJuly 7, 2021 Boston.com

Worcester police arrested a woman ordering McDonald’s in a stolen truck on Tuesday morning after a two-hour chase for the vehicle.

“She was actually in the drive-thru ordering food and that’s when they got her,” said Raymond James Simoncini, owner of the truck who witnessed the arrest.

The woman was later identified as 38-year-old Johanna Gardell of Oriol Drive in Worcester. “She backed into somebody in the drive-thru to try to escape the cops,” said Simoncini. “She ended up in a flower bed.”

According to the Worcester Police Department, officers were dispatched at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday morning after Raymond James Restoration Inc. reported a stolen company vehicle. Gardell then got into the maroon pick-up truck and drove off of the 11 Lake Ave site while workers were unloading materials. Simoncini, who owns the restoration company, said no one saw Gardell take the car, but security footage shows her driving away with the car after trying to break into other vehicles.

The truck had a GPS tracking device, which allowed police to follow Gardell throughout the area for the next few hours. Worcester police reported they were met with a driver whose car was hit by the stolen truck while following her to Pelham St. Police chased Gardell, who refused to pull over but called the chase off twice due to safety concerns. Gardell was seen running red lights and driving in the wrong direction, as well as crashing into multiple vehicles.

Later, two detail officers and another officer attempted to stop Gardell and pull her out of the vehicle. Worcester police reported one of these officers was hit and dragged by Gardell and is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Simoncini said he noticed the truck’s location stopped at the Worcester McDonald’s on Shrewsbury Street while looking at the GPS. “She was ordering chicken nuggets and they actually held her up,” Simoncini said. “The officers called ahead to hold her and slow down the line.” While being extracted from the car and arrested, Simoncini said Gardell continued to tell officers the truck belonged to her.

The truck was damaged from the various crashes, but Simoncini said he is not sure of the truck’s condition. “It looks pretty bad, but I’m not an insurance adjuster,” Simoncini said.

The Worcester District Attorney’s Office said Gardell faces 15 charges – including Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, Leaving the Scene of an Accident with Personal Injury, and Resisting Arrest.

The DA’s office said Gardell is pleading not guilty and will appear in court next Tuesday, July 13.

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I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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