In a startling breach of common courtesy, not to mention the law, Raymond Chico of Baldwin Park was arrested after allegedly commandeering a vehicle from a Carl's Jr. customer who was just trying to enjoy a meal. According to a Facebook post by the Alhambra Police Department, the victim had parked to eat when an individual, later identified as Chico, reportedly opened the driver's door and insisted that the victim exit the car before proceeding to drive away at a high rate of speed.
The vehicle, stolen near the intersection of Commonwealth Ave. and Fremont Ave., was tracked down in East Los Angeles with assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Aero Bureau - their eyes in the sky spotting the car as surely as a hawk spies a field mouse. Upon being apprehended, the suspect cheekily informed officers that he was "just borrowing the vehicle," a statement that failed to account for the absence of solicited permission. According to the arresting authorities, the suspect's concept of borrowing might be fundamentally flawed.
Contrary to Chico's casual excuse, borrowing something typically involves the critical step of asking, an etiquette apparently skipped on this occasion. The vehicle was safely recovered and returned to its rightful owner, sparing them a longer episode of distress. Chico, meanwhile, faced the consequences of his impromptu 'borrowing' exercise, finding himself booked at APD Jail, a predictable end to an audacious act.
The odd incident, which disrupted an unsuspecting individual's mealtime, ended without harm, yet underscores a brazen reality of urban life where the serenity of a fast-food stop can swiftly shift to the sharp alarm of crime, it also serves as a peculiar anecdote, a blend of the mundane and the criminal, one that residents of Alhambra aren't likely to forget anytime soon. The Alhambra Police Department's account of the event, replete with a tongue-in-cheek tone, reminds us of the peculiar tales that often populate police blotters. In Raymond Chico's case, his purported attempt at 'borrowing' a vehicle was less a case of innocent miscommunication and more a straightforward theft, promptly redressed by local law enforcement.
