The Shoplifter

I rarely drive at night, but Lyft was offering some extra incentives, so I took the bait. I went out from 1:30 - 3:30 a.m. and will never do it again. I have greater respect for drivers who deal with the many things I do not during the day, which I guess, is why they tend to have more income than day drivers.

Things started off okay at first. My first ping happened almost immediately upon turning on the driving app and picked up a couple of guys who were finishing their shift at a local bar. Took them home and had a great conversation along the way. Did a few more uneventful rides.

Then around 2 a.m. I get a ping for a guy to pick up in an upper-class neighborhood out west a bit. Along the way, I get a text from the rider saying that I am actually picking up a girl and he gives me her name. I get to the home and am waiting. Four minutes pass and he texts me asking why haven't I picked up the girl, and I respond via text, that she hasn't come out yet. Three seconds until the five minute wait time a girl comes out of nowhere and jumps in the back seat. She is a young, fun person and we are heading to Walgreen's. Along the way, she loves the songs I have playing and is singing, seems like a nice person.

Getting to the Walgreen's, which is quite a distance east, we discover it is closed. It used to be open 24 hours but no longer. There is another just south of us, so we go check to see if it is open -- nope! So, now she is getting upset and we are both checking our phones where is the closest 24-hour Walgreen's.

It is all the way up in Boynton Beach and she says she needs to go there because she needs some feminine products and some other things. I am understanding and we head north.

Along the way, I suggest that there are a couple of Walmarts that are open and would take less time. "Oh, I am not allowed in Walmarts." It is only then I realize, "Uh oh! I might be with a trouble maker."

We get up to the Walgreen's and she exits the car letting me know she'll only be a few minutes. Almost immediately I get a text from the guy paying for the ride upset that how much this is costing him as he thought he was only going to pay for the original ride. I explain, telling him I am happy to end the ride right now, or we can wait for her to finish and I would get her home the quickest route. Turns out he is a Lyft driver as well and had called for a Lyft for her, who is apparently her "uncle."

Twelve minutes go by and I see there is some kind of commotion going on inside the Walgreen's. She girl comes out empty-handed and angry. I have no idea what happened inside and thought perhaps her credit card didn't work -- this is naive I am. She wants to go home, but just before we get to I-95 to head south, she spots a 7-11 and wants to stop in there. Makes sense; they have feminine hygiene products available there -- I am a bit slow 😀

As she goes in she puts on her hoodie and I am thinking this girl isn't too bright, why would she put up her hoodie, it makes her look suspicious, in my eye. From my vantage point, I can see it appears she is putting stuff in her jacket, but I can't clearly make out if that is what she is doing. I see the two male employees watching her. She is going up and down the isles and I also notice the guys on their cell phones. She comes out briskly holding her jacket together in what appears to be stolen items under it as she didn't go to the counter and pay for anything. She jumps in the back seat and yells, "GO! GO! GO!"

I am not going anywhere! The two male employees are outside, one guy using his phone to take video, the other on his phone with the police. I tell the girl, I am not going anywhere as it appears, though I did not actually see her do it, she took items from the store without paying. 

Within moments, my Lyft car is surrounded by three police cruisers with their bright lights making it like it is daytime. She refuses to get out of the car, I keep my hands on the steering wheel, and the ignition off. Eventually, she gets out and they cuffed her and put her on the parking stop. A cop takes her cell phone from the back seat, they have trouble finding what she took -- she left nothing in the back seat. Quickly, the cops realize I have nothing to do with it and let me go.

I text the guy paying for the ride: The police are here, I am ending the ride, if you want to bail her out, she's being arrested by the ------- police dept." I don't know what ultimately happened with the girl.