May 06--A man and woman who stole a Meals on Wheels truck as volunteers unloaded food for seniors led police on a chase through the Bay Area on Friday, authorities said.
The theft was a crime of opportunity more than anything else, police said.
"The suspects were not looking for food or specifically to steal that specific truck," Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said.
The caper began about 10 a.m. in Fremont when Reginald Nunn, 45, approached a woman in her car and tried to reach into her window, police said. When he failed, the woman called police.
According to police, Nunn then ran to a nearby parking lot behind City Hall, where the driver of the Meals on Wheels truck was helping volunteers load coolers of food into their cars.
Nunn jumped into the driver's seat of the truck, but his partner, Latu Tapueluelu, 33, was grabbed by a worker as she ran toward the vehicle, officials said. The worker released her when Nunn stepped out of the vehicle.
Nunn then slipped back behind the wheel and began to drive off as Tapueluelu jumped into the passenger seat, police officials said. An arriving police sergeant saw the fleeing meal truck and immediately began following it.
What happened next was a moderately paced, 12.5-mile pursuit through Fremont, Union City, Hayward and Castro Valley, police said.
Police said they used a "pursuit intervention technique" to disable the truck on the on-ramp of Interstate 580 in Castro Valley.
Nunn exited the truck and claimed he had a bomb, police said. Officers released a police dog on him, but did not find a bomb.
Nunn and Tapueluelu were arrested and taken to a hospital to be treated for moderate injuries, police said.
Nunn and Tapueluelu were booked on suspicion of attempted carjacking, resisting arrest, auto theft and felony reckless evading, police said.
The stolen truck was only 2 years old and was used by Life ElderCare to deliver about 400 meals daily to seniors, according to program secretary Lily Shih.
Shih said a volunteer told Nunn, "Look, don't take the truck, we need it for seniors' food."
The truck was damaged during the pursuit and towed away, but will be released to the program in a few days, police said.
In the meantime, Shih said, volunteers were frantically trying to determine how they would deliver meals to seniors in the coming days.
"Ultimately, it's a miracle that no one from Life Eldercare was hurt," she said. "However, unsure of the extent of the damage yet, they are desperately planning their plan B and plan C. They're expecting major repairs and want to be prepared to possibly rent vehicles."
Shih has set up a fundraising page for donations.
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