PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A would-be car thief allegedly armed with an axe has learned a powerful lesson from a powerless car parked in a Prince George, B.C., driveway.
Brent Jameson Morgan, 20, now knows that the Corvette he tried to steal on Sunday afternoon becomes nothing more than a four-wheeled holding cell when the battery dies and common sense goes out the window.
RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass said Monday that Morgan allegedly jumped into the idling Corvette just as the owner was putting away a charger used to revive the sports car's dead battery.
The owner watched in disbelief as the suspect rolled up the power windows, locked the power doors and promptly stalled the vehicle.
"Unfortunately for the (suspect), he was not good with a standard transmission and stalled the Corvette when he attempted to reverse out of the driveway," Douglass said.
The shocked owner wasn't able to take any action because the man in his car was brandishing bear spray, Douglass said.
With not enough juice in the battery to restart the car, the suspect was trapped inside the Corvette after failing to break the window with the victim's anti-theft steering wheel lock and an axe in his backpack.
As police arrived, Morgan was attempting to exit the vehicle after allegedly smashing the driver side window with his screw driver — apparently for no good reason.
"As it turns out, all the suspect would have had to do was manually slide the door lock to the side and the door would have opened," Douglass said.
Morgan was arrested and his bicycle was removed from the scene.
He's been charged with theft, mischief, possession of break-in instruments and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.