Man arrested after trying to steal self-driving taxi controls stayed locked

04 March 2024 , 22:48

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A Los Angeles man attempted to steal a self-driving taxi but didn't have much luck (Image: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

It was the perfect heist — or so Vincent Maurice Jones thought. It wasn't like there was anyone to stop him. But there were lots of factors the 33-year-old didn't consider, and that's how he got caught.

Jones was charged with attempted grand theft auto after he reportedly failed to steal a self-driving taxi that had given him a ride in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night.

NBC News reported that Jones got into a Waymo car, which is a fully autonomous vehicle that serves as a taxi, around 10:30pm local time that night near Main Street, just north of 1st Street near City Hall.

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The vehicle would not respond to any of Jones' commands, and the police were eventually on the scene to apprehend him (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Instead of getting in as a passenger, he got in the driver's seat, it was reported, but found himself utterly unable to manipulate any of the vehicle's controls. He was able to get the vehicle into drive, but he couldn't operate it from there.

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A representative from the company realised what was happening and began speaking to Jones from a remote location. They told him to leave the vehicle, but Jones did not, so they called the police.

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were quick to arrive at the scene, and they took the man into custody, charging him with attempted grand theft auto. It remains unclear, according to the LAPD, whether or not Jones remains in custody, whether he has legal representation or if he was charged with a felony or misdemeanour count of attempted grand theft auto.

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Attempted grand theft auto carries different punishments in California depending on the level of the charge — with midemeanours carrying a maximum of one year in prison and felonies three years.

It was only recently that self-driving cars became a common sight in California's cities, NBC reported. Waymo spun off from Google in 2016 and was shortly thereafter allowed to expand the number of self-driving vehicles it operates around LA. It had previously launched in San Francisco and Phoenix.

The outlet reported that around 50,000 people in the greater LA metropolitan area are waiting for their free Waymo tour rides, during which a Waymo vehicle will drive them around the city to see the sights, it is reported.

But lawmakers still aren't sure about Waymo or any self-driving cars, as several have apparently been known to run red lights and get in the way of emergency vehicles.

Jeremiah Hassel