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Car Thief Caught... While Playing 'Grand Theft Auto'

by Amar Toor on January 25, 2010 at 08:01 AM

Every now and then, the News Cycle Gods hand down to us a gem of irony so pure and delicious that, for a fleeting moment, we're convinced that we're all living in a giant Larry David screenplay. This, dear readers, is one of those precious moments.

Police in Polk County, Florida were recently investigating reports of a stolen SUV when they received a tip about the vehicle's whereabouts. After tracking the car down to the home of 30-year old Michael Ray Ekes, they entered the house and found the suspect sitting on his couch and honing his skills on -- you guessed it -- 'Grand Theft Auto.' Police immediately arrested him on charges of drug possession, burglary, and grand theft auto (of the "real" variety).

Ekes was already on bail for two previous GTA charges and, according to the Orlando Sentinel, when investigators asked him if the video game was anything like the real thing, he replied simply that "it's a blast." Sherriff Grady Judd took the opportunity to remind everyone that "crime is not a game," and said he would love to see Ekes locked up "for a good long while, where they don't have Grand Theft Auto video games."

Crime, of course, isn't a game. But a lot of games involve crime, because crime is one of a handful of things that the average person would never dare to do in their lifetime -- which is what makes this case so weird. Isn't stealing cars in virtual reality sort of a major step down from the real thing? Isn't this kind of like LeBron James spending hours in front of 'NBA Live?' Or Slash compulsively playing 'Guitar Hero?' [From: Orlando Sentinel; via: Huffington Post]

Tags: dumbcriminal, funny, grand theft auto, GrandTheftAuto, orlando, top, video games, VideoGames

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