Thief who was suspended by forklift returns to Akron junkyard: Police
AKRON, Ohio (WJW) – Video of a thief caught red-handed by employees at an Akron junkyard and suspended 20 feet in the air by their forklift, was a viral sensation last year.
The employees were surprised when the same man returned to the scrap yard Wednesday night, but the outcome was predictable.
The unusual story began to unfold on Oct. 17, when a manager at Arlington Auto Wrecking spotted a thief rummaging through an SUV. When he tried to get away, another employee used a forklift to lift the SUV up in the air until Akron police arrived at the scene.
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Police video showed the employee then lowering the SUV, so that officers could place the suspect under arrest.
Alexander Jackson Funk, who was 26 years old at the time, was not happy about being trapped at the scene of the crime, and was heard on the video refusing to identify himself or answer any questions.
The employees at the scrap yard told police that they were fed up with thieves like Funk targeting the business and that’s why they took matters into their own hands.
They thought they had seen the last of Funk, but on Wednesday night, their security cameras detected a prowler who had broken into the scrap yard and was in the process of stealing a car.
Investigators say it was the now 27-year-old Funk and he used the stolen vehicle to smash through the gate in the salvage yard.
One of the managers told a 911 dispatcher, “he is just leaving the property now, I no longer can see him. I can’t tell you what direction he’s going.”
But Akron police officers responded quickly and a short time later stopped the car and arrested Funk. Inside the car, they found illegal drugs and paraphernalia.
“It may be contributing to some of the bad decisions that he’s made, in short order, you know, the prior incident that took place in October and then what happened on Wednesday,” APD Captain Mike Miller said.
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Employees at the wrecking yard say Funk would be a lot better off if he devoted his energy to making an honest living.
They point out the investigation revealed that on Wednesday he spent hours looking for a car with the keys inside, until he finally found keys under the floor mat of the car that he stole.
Longtime employees told us they have seen enough of Funk and hope that he learned his lesson, but they felt the same way in October, when he went for a ride on their forklift.
“That certainly did not deter him from coming back yesterday and that’s the unfortunate part, so we’re fortunate that in both cases that it led to an arrest,” said Captain Miller.
On the back window of the car that Funk stole, one of the employees painted the words, “No Funk Allowed.”
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