Buster

Cops: Man Said He Stole Taxi Because He Did Not Want To Walk Six Blocks To His Home

An Iowa resident arrested for stealing a taxi moments after his release from a Des Moines hospital told cops that he boosted the ride because he did not want to walk the six blocks to his residence.

According to police, Luis Orellana-Rivera, 26, hopped into a running cab parked outside Mercy Medical Center. The taxi driver told cops that he pulled up to the hospital’s front doors and left the car running as he made a delivery to the blood bank.   

Pictured in the above mug shot, Orellana-Rivera allegedly swiped the car around 6:15 AM Friday, immediately after his discharge.

Shortly after the taxi’s owner reported the vehicle stolen, Des Moines Police Department cops used GPS data to locate the Ford Crown Victoria, which was parked less than a mile from the hospital.

Orellana-Rivera was arrested as he exited the vehicle, which was in a lot behind his former residence. A “friend/former roommate” told police that Orellana-Rivera “has been having mental issues lately due to drug usage,” and has been “delusional and paranoid.”

Orellana-Rivera, who had the cab’s keys in his pants pocket, told police that he opted to steal the car instead of walking home from the hospital. Orellana-Rivera, who spent about six hours at the medical center, was wearing a hospital bracelet and had a pulse oxygen device still attached to his finger when apprehended.

Orellana-Rivera was arrested for felony theft and jailed in the Polk County lockup (where he is being held in lieu of $5000 bond).