Police: Carjacker Tried to Steal Lobsters

Police have a 46-year-old man in custody after he allegedly tried to steal lobsters Thursday afternoon from  then a 79-year-old man's white BMW outside the in South Whitehall. 

Charles Shumanis, no current address and who police say walked away from a Lehigh County work release center, is being held on two previous felony counts of retail theft, said Allentown police Capt. Keith Morris. Additional charges are pending. 

According to police:

• Shumanis tried to steal lobsters from the Weis Market on S. Cedar Crest Boulevard at 12:57 p.m. 

• The store's manager and security guard took chase.

• Shumanis fled across Cedar Crest Boulevard to the parking lot of Friendly's restaurant. He jumped into the passenger side of a white BMW, its 79-year-old owner in the driver's seat.

• Shumanis told the man to drive out. The man was going to comply but saw the manager and security guard in pursuit, so he stopped the car and got out.

• Shumanis jumped into the driver's seat and began to drive away, dragging the car's owner 50 feet before he got free.

• Shumanis fled in the car. He struck multiple vehicles before he abandoned the car in the 200 block of North 15th Street in Allentown, where he was then apprehended by police.

Raquel Rosario, who lives on 15th Street near Chew Street in Allentown, said she was on her porch when she the white BMW hit a car traveling on 15th Street. She said a large man got of the car and ran, as if he was just jogging. That's when the man was apprehended by police, she said.

Morris said the 79-year-old man who was carjacked was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Allentown, where he was treated for minor injuries.

Morris said Shumanis had allegedly stolen lobsters previously from the supermarket, and that it was an ongoing problem.

South Whitehall police is assisting Allentown police in the investigation.