Alleged Shoplifter Uses Store's Motorized Shopping Cart as Getaway 'Vehicle'

Shirley Manson, 46, of Fruitport Township was arrested after she allegedly stole $600 worth of merchandise and a $1,200 motorized shopping cart. (Photo: Muskegon County Jail)

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Call it a slow-speed chase.

A Michigan woman accused of stealing $600 worth of merchandise from a Walmart store made it two miles in one of the retail giant’s motorized shopping carts before police caught up with her Monday.

Fruitport Township police said Shirley Mason, 46, told them that she took the motorized cart “because she didn’t feel like walking,” MLive/The Muskegon Chronicle reports. She apparently had tried to get a friend to pick her up after her shoplifting spree, but wasn’t able to reach anyone.

When police apprehended her, she reportedly told them that she had paid for the six plastic bags of clothing in her possession, but couldn’t produce a sales slip. She planned to sell the clothing for money, police said.

When police ran her name through a statewide crime database, they discovered an outstanding warrant for her arrest on retail fraud charges filed in connection with earlier incidents at Walmart.

Mason is expected in court on Sept. 23 for a preliminary examination. She is currently free on bond, according to the report.

The motorized shopping cart the woman allegedly commandeered was valued at $1,200.