Man Steals Motorized Shopping Cart, Caught Driving in Missoula Traffic

On August 13, 2022, at about 8:52 pm, a Missoula Police Department officer responded to a dispatch call regarding a moving violation near West Broadway and Orange Street for a motorized shopping cart driving the wrong way in traffic.  

The officer observed a male, later identified as 30-year-old Jackson Freund, driving a motorized shopping cart in the middle lane on the 700 block of West Broadway. The officer activated his patrol vehicle lights and parked in the middle lane to contact Freund.  

As the officer exited his patrol vehicle, Freund turned the shopping cart around and pointed toward the side of the roadway. Freund then began driving the motorized shopping cart eastbound towards the sidewalk. The officer gave Freund verbal commands to come speak with him and Freund complied. 

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The officer asked Freund what he was doing. Freund laughed and asked if he should leave the motorized cart where they were. The officer asked Fruend where he obtained the motorized shopping cart and Freund stated that he obtained it from a grocery store located in the 1000 block of East Broadway. 

Police Public Information Officer Lydia Arnold picks up the story. 

“Jackson Freund is under arrest for driving a motorized shopping cart the wrong way in traffic causing a traffic issue and depriving the grocery establishment of their motorized shopping cart,” Arnold said. “Officers stopped the driver of a motorized cart. Freund was taken into custody and the cart was returned to the business.”  

According to court documents, there were four tall empty beer cans in the basket of the cart. Freund told the officer that he intended on returning the cart. When the officer returned the cart, he was informed that the battery was very low, making it unlikely that Freund would have been able to drive it back 1.2 miles to the location. The officer noted that the cart is very heavy, and Freund would not have been able to carry it. 

Freund is currently being charged with felony theft. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.