Sparky_Bill
02-06-2007, 06:01 PM
Dude, don't steal my car
He really needed to get to Wisconsin. And the parked Blazer was already running. But quick thinking by the teen in the front seat cut his trip short.
BY ALEX FRIEDRICH
Pioneer Press
Two dudes. One Chevy Blazer. One weird encounter at Wal-Mart.
Thirteen-year-old Isaiah Cram, of Wyoming, was sitting in his family's Blazer in the parking lot of the Forest Lake store Sunday afternoon, listening to his iPod and waiting for his mom to get a prescription filled.
Suddenly, a stranger opened the Blazer's back door and started loading it up — an MP3 player, a paintball gun, hand warmers, candy bars, Slim-Fast diet drink, three copies of the Jennifer Lopez classic "The Wedding Planner."
To Isaiah's amazement, the man then got into the driver's seat and adjusted the steering wheel.
What unfolded next, according to Isaiah:
"What's up, bro?" the man asked. "Hey," Isaiah said, "do I know you?"
"Of course, you know me. I'm Dan. … Dude, you gotta fill up your tires, man. They need air."
The man put car the car in reverse and started to back up. Anxious, Isaiah thought fast: He reached over, turned off the vehicle — it's old and has no ignition-safety mechanism — and pulled out the keys.
"Dude," he told the man, "you can't take me anywhere."
"All right, dude," the man answered. "That's cool."
The guy shifted into park — and sat there.
Isaiah's mom, Becky Cram, returned at that moment. The man greeted her: "Hi, I'm Dan."
"Hey, you've got to get out of my car."
"But I need to go to Wisconsin."
"Well, you've got to get out of the car."
"Can I use your phone?"
"You can't, because I'm using it to call the cops," Cram replied.
The man got out and walked in to Wal-Mart as she called police. Isaiah followed him.
"Dude, you've got your stuff in my car," he told the man. "You've got to take it out."
"Keep it, dude," the man answered. "What's mine is yours."
Soon officers arrived and arrested 27-year-old Daniel Joe Lewandowski, of Hugo. Police said he was charged Monday with stealing $334 in merchandise and trying to steal the Blazer.
He was in jail Monday.
He really needed to get to Wisconsin. And the parked Blazer was already running. But quick thinking by the teen in the front seat cut his trip short.
BY ALEX FRIEDRICH
Pioneer Press
Two dudes. One Chevy Blazer. One weird encounter at Wal-Mart.
Thirteen-year-old Isaiah Cram, of Wyoming, was sitting in his family's Blazer in the parking lot of the Forest Lake store Sunday afternoon, listening to his iPod and waiting for his mom to get a prescription filled.
Suddenly, a stranger opened the Blazer's back door and started loading it up — an MP3 player, a paintball gun, hand warmers, candy bars, Slim-Fast diet drink, three copies of the Jennifer Lopez classic "The Wedding Planner."
To Isaiah's amazement, the man then got into the driver's seat and adjusted the steering wheel.
What unfolded next, according to Isaiah:
"What's up, bro?" the man asked. "Hey," Isaiah said, "do I know you?"
"Of course, you know me. I'm Dan. … Dude, you gotta fill up your tires, man. They need air."
The man put car the car in reverse and started to back up. Anxious, Isaiah thought fast: He reached over, turned off the vehicle — it's old and has no ignition-safety mechanism — and pulled out the keys.
"Dude," he told the man, "you can't take me anywhere."
"All right, dude," the man answered. "That's cool."
The guy shifted into park — and sat there.
Isaiah's mom, Becky Cram, returned at that moment. The man greeted her: "Hi, I'm Dan."
"Hey, you've got to get out of my car."
"But I need to go to Wisconsin."
"Well, you've got to get out of the car."
"Can I use your phone?"
"You can't, because I'm using it to call the cops," Cram replied.
The man got out and walked in to Wal-Mart as she called police. Isaiah followed him.
"Dude, you've got your stuff in my car," he told the man. "You've got to take it out."
"Keep it, dude," the man answered. "What's mine is yours."
Soon officers arrived and arrested 27-year-old Daniel Joe Lewandowski, of Hugo. Police said he was charged Monday with stealing $334 in merchandise and trying to steal the Blazer.
He was in jail Monday.