A man was arrested after police said he stole a delivery truck on Friday in Oregon while an employee was still inside the truck’s cargo area.
Just before 4:30 a.m. on November 15, Milwaukie Police were called to a report of a work cargo truck that had just been stolen from the warehouse parking lot.
The business, Elephants Delicatessen, reported a delivery truck was running and being loaded by employees for the day when a man jumped into the truck.
Security footage shows the suspect getting into the truck cab and driving away, while an employee, who was still inside, is forced to jump from the back of the moving truck as it sped away.
“[the truck] started moving even faster and then that’s when I started to hold on to whatever I could hold on to,” Esmeralda, the employee working in the truck told KGW8. “He slowed down for a bit before hitting the railroad tracks, and so, I jumped off.”
Police said, fortunately, she only sustained minor injuries.
Witnesses told officers at the scene that the truck was equipped with a GPS tracking device. However, following a check of the area, officers were not able to locate the truck.
Later in the day, employees of the deli informed police that the van had been spotted around Portland, according to data from the GPS tracking system.
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With the assistance of the Beaverton Police Department, the truck was located and the suspected thief, 29-year-old Forrest Lee Guayante of Aberdeen, Washington, was still inside.
When police tried to stop the truck, Guayante allegedly rammed the police car with the truck and tried to get away.
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However, the truck was stopped by heavy traffic and so Guayante allegedly abandoned the truck and ran away on foot through business parking lots and neighborhood yards.
Officers were able to track him down with the help of a police K-9 and arrest him.
Guayante was booked in the Washington County Jail and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, reckless endangering, attempt to elude, hit-and-run and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.
He also faces charges of kidnapping, criminal mischief, theft and fraudulent use of a credit card, according to the Milwaukie Police Department.
