The man was arrested for attempted car theft.
A homeless man was arrested on suspicion of car theft after trying to steal a Waymo self-driving car in Los Angeles. nbc news the report said. The incident occurred on Saturday night when the man entered and attempted to operate the driverless car that had stopped to let passengers out.
in a statementThe Los Angeles Police Department said the man, Vincent Maurice Jones, climbed into the white car just after it dropped off a passenger. The passenger, Maurice Jones, 33, “attempted to put the vehicle into ‘drive’ but was unable to operate the controls,” the Los Angeles Police Department said.
“On March 2, 2024, at approximately 10:30 p.m., a fully autonomous vehicle, a white Jaguar sedan, dropped off a passenger on Main Street north of First Street. The suspect was later identified as 33 Vincent Maurice Jones, 20, entered the vehicle and sat in the driver’s seat. Jones attempted to put the vehicle into “drive” but was unable to operate the controls, a police statement said.
After noticing the intruder, a Waymo representative told Jones through the car’s online communications system to get out of the car. After he refused, the company contacted police. Central District Police units responded and Jones was arrested for attempted vehicle theft.
Police did not say whether he had been charged or remained in police custody.
In California, a successful conviction for attempted auto theft is punishable by up to three years in prison if charged as a felony or up to one year in prison if charged as a misdemeanor.
Waymo spokesman Chris Bonelli said the passengers were not injured and the vehicle was not damaged.
Notably, Alphabet subsidiary Waymo has been testing its fully autonomous vehicles on the streets of Los Angeles for more than a year.according to FuturismWaymo received approval last week to officially expand its self-driving car services to Los Angeles County.
