This man is either one of the dumbest criminals in history or he's an absolute genius.
22-year-old Elliott Scott stole a tow truck in Chicago last week. Not realizing that companies put GPS trackers in most of their vehicles these days, Scott drove away with his grand theft prize, only to have the owner of the truck call the police and give them Scott's location.
Police immediately responded to the scene, but it turns out they didn't actually need the GPS data.
While sitting in the driver's seat, Scott himself called the police and reported that the owner of the truck had pointed a gun at him... you know, when he was stealing the truck.
The criminal mastermind was shortly arrested and charged with aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, misdemeanor theft, and driving on a suspended or revoked license.
A confused judge greeted Scott during his arraignment.
"Mr. Scott called 911?" the judged asked prosecutors after he'd heard the story.
Before the prosecutors could answer, Scott (master of criminal schemes that he is), interjected with "Yeah, right."
Scott's attorney then politely asked him to shut up.
There's the silver lining for Scott, however. Because of his apparent stupidity or genius (and his lack of violent force), he avoided jail and was allowed to go home with an ankle monitor. He also didn't have to pay bail.
"He did not use a weapon during this matter," said the judge in his ruling. "He called the police, apparently, upon himself."
