CLARKSVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A homeless woman had her rental vehicle stolen Tuesday by a man with one leg man in a wheelchair, according to Clarksville police.
The incident occurred at around 5:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the Two Rivers Mall on North Riverside Drive.
The 42-year-old woman was with her 18-year-old son in a 2012 Chevrolet Impala and said she stopped to help the one-legged man because he looked tired.
She offered the man a ride, which the man accepted. The woman and her son helped the man into the back seat of the rental car and loaded the wheelchair into the trunk of car, said police.
The man asked the woman if she would go through the drive thru at Taco Bell so he could purchase some food.
After they left from Taco Bell, the woman and her son started to discuss some personal matters.
They decided they did not want to discuss personal matters in front of the man, so they pulled over in the mall's parking lot and got out of the vehicle to talk.
While they were outside of the vehicle, the man climbed from the back seat into the front seat and drove off in the vehicle.
Officers later located the vehicle in the parking lot of a McDonald's on North Second Street.
The man, Craig Funches, 35, is charged with joyriding.
Police said during the investigation, they found that Funches was not a total stranger to the woman, as she has helped him previously.
After taking the car for a ride, Funches apparently made unsuccessful attempts to contact the woman to return the car, and he later returned her personal property to a previous residence, police said.
Funches also called the rental car company, offering to return the vehicle and pay the balance owed, police said.
Additional charges are not expected in the case.
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Craig Funches (Photo from Clarksville PD)
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