LOCAL : Suspect’s Plan Loses a Wheel
A man in a wheelchair shoplifted two Nintendo games from a La Habra store, but abandoned his wheelchair and fled on foot when he was confronted by store officials, police said today.
Ernest Halleen, 44, of Brea, was booked on suspicion of burglary and was in Orange County jail today in lieu of $10,000 bail.
La Habra police Sgt. Phil Stufflebean said the suspect entered the Target store in the 1000 block of East Imperial Highway around 1:40 p.m. Thursday. A Target security officer looked on as the suspect took two Nintendo games, with a combined value of $159, and placed them under a blanket on his lap, Stufflebean said.
“He left the store without paying and when store officials confronted him, he jumped out of the wheelchair and went on a full run,” Stufflebean said. “The (security) officer ran after him and wrestled him down in the parking lot.”
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