A quick-thinking forklift driver ruined an Ohio man's plans to steal a car by lifting the vehicle 20 feet in the air with the suspect still inside. Only when he was trapped up there did they take the time to call the police. 

It all went down in October at Arlington Auto Wrecking in Akron, Ohio. This was the third incident they had with this guy, but when they got him this time, even the 911 operators were cracking up when an employee called in the situation:

“So, he’s still in the car about 20 feet in the air in the loader,” the employee told 911. 

“Wonderful, that is the greatest thing I’ve ever heard,” the 911 operator said with a laugh. “We, we will get somebody out to you.”

Ohio car theft suspect foiled by quick-thinking forklift operator who holds him 20 feet in the air https://t.co/uePaLyED2i #FoxNews

— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) November 5, 2023

When police arrived and found the car in the air, one officer captured the moment on his bodycam. He explained to the others what the heck had happened after he returned to the station:

He broke into a car at the junkyard and before he could get out, he’s done it before, they got like the forklift and they had him like I’m not kidding like 20 feet off the ground, so when we got there we went right into custody.

The officers cracked up, too, just like the 911 operators. Watch:

Auto shop employees trapped a thief in a car by raising it off the ground with a forklift in Akron, Ohio, on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

(Akron Police Department, via CNN Newsource) #universebyu #byu #videooftheday pic.twitter.com/ulUoVOXbDq

— The Daily Universe (@UniverseBYU) November 3, 2023

An employee explained to police why they did it:

“We’re having a lot of trouble here with people stealing stuff and everything, and we got a guy that’s passed out or crashed in one of our vehicles in our yard. And I got the vehicle picked up with the loader and he’s probably 20 feet in the air now and I refuse to drop this thing to let him out and run,” the employee said. “I mean, we’ve just had so much problems here with theft and catalytic converters and just fires and everything.”

Authorities police arrested the suspect, 26-year-old Alexander Funk, at gunpoint for criminal trespassing and possessing criminal tools. He was wearing a backpack that had a Sawzall cutting tool, Sawzall blades, and other tools. It's not the first time Funk got caught acting funky:

Funk has had several run-ins with the law recently. The Akron man has been convicted of criminal trespassing, drug abuse, and entering a condemned building. He also had a warrant out for disorderly conduct.

He's even caused trouble at the auto shop before:

Employees told police Funk had broken in several times before. They said they let him go the first time. The second time they said he escaped.

“I was putting the car in the shop, and he was in the backseat, and we called the police on him,” one employee told police. “We were waiting for you guys to get here, and he shoved one of my guys out of the way and took off running and you guys were looking for him over there across the street for about an hour. That’s the third time now, it’s the same guy.”

Funk probably had hopes of getting high that day, but I don't think that's what he had in mind. Hopefully that's the last Arlington Auto Wrecking will see of the low-life.