This Beer Heist Led To A Comically Slow Police Chase

We may be alone in this, but have you ever looked at a delivery truck filled with your favorite items and thought how awesome it would be to have an entire truckload of them? You would never have to buy Fritos, La Croix, or Snickers again if you were able to get your hands on a truck full of it. While it would be amazing, unfortunately, there is no "truckload" quantity when checking out on Amazon. The other way to fulfill this fantasy is to steal a truck, which is both a logistical nightmare and highly illegal.

Such fantasy heists should probably stay on TV shows like "Workaholics" and not make their way into reality (via Paste). Still, a few people have seen the opportunity to steal truckloads of food or drink and take it. The flaw in that plan is that these delivery trucks are slow and very easy to spot, usually making the police chase pretty uneventful. However, one chase that was a bit more eventful occurred in April of 2021 when an Oklahoma City man stole a Frito-Lay truck that was idling in a gas station, as per Food & Wine. He made it 100 miles before getting caught, which is a lot farther than this attempted beer thief in Providence, Rhode Island, got. 

The story of the beer heist in Rhode Island is similar to the Frito-Lay truck story, but the execution was lacking by comparison. According to WPRI, 44-year old Jeremy Fellela jumped in the driver's seat of a beer delivery truck while it was idling in the A to Z Liquors parking lot in Providence, Rhode Island. This type of truck is already a slow vehicle, but Fellela's attempted getaway was even slower because the vehicle's liftgate was down. This caused bottles and kegs to fly out of the back once he hit the gas.

WPRI caught the police chase on video, where you can see the truck slowly making its way through Providence neighborhoods. The pursuit ends anticlimactically when Fellela crashes the truck into a utility pole less than two miles from where he started. Greg Johnson, who watched the chase from his house, said that police pulled Fellela from the vehicle after the crash. Johnson also offered to buy Fellela beer so he doesn't have to steal a truck to get some next time. Fellela was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, eluding police, reckless driving, and refusal to submit a chemical test. According to Food & Wine, Fellela is being held without bail due to his four counts of bank fraud from earlier this year.