A stolen Greyhound bus has been returned, and the non-violent criminal Darius McCollum has been arrested for the 30th time. McCollum, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome or autism, has stolen buses, a train, and has confessed that he wants to snatch a plane soon.
New York authorities have retrieved a stolen Greyhound bus, but now, they should start guarding their airplanes because the thief has plans to strike at an airport soon. On Wednesday, Darius McCollum, 50, was arrested by police for stealing a Greyhound bus out of the Port Authority Bus Terminal and taking it for a joyride to his native Brooklyn.
A supervisor alerted both the cops and the Greyhound headquarters in Texas of the missing bus, and they were able to track it in Brooklyn using GPS.
McCollum was found on the bus, alone, at Union St. and Third Ave. in Park Slope, sporting a badge that read “Home Front Security.” He was arrested and hit with a long list of charges including grand larceny, possession of a forged instrument, criminal impersonation of a police officer, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal possession of stolen property. As he was being cuffed, he told the cops that he plans to take a plane next. The mentally disabled man said:
“Next time I’m taking a plane.”
While the idea sounds completely crazy, it is not impossible for McCollum, who is a serial mass transit thief, to achieve it. In his lifetime McCollum, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome or autism, has been arrested at least 30 times for posing as a transit worker, stealing buses and even a train.
As a child, McCollum, who lived near the NYC subway station, spent hours with workers, who helped him learn a lot about the transit system. By the age of 8, he had memorized the subway map, and as a young boy, he unsuccessfully tried to get a job with the transit system. At 15, he became a local celebrity after he more or less stole a train – he piloted a subway train six stops without any passengers noticing. His lawyer issued a statement at the time saying that his client is not mentally well and should not be in jail but put in a program to undergo cognitive behavioral therapy. The attorney said:
“He is not violent criminal, his lawyer has said in past cases — he just drives the routes, fixes tracks and takes tolls without an official job until he’s caught by police.”
In 2010, he was arrested again for driving a stolen Trailways bus on a highway heading to Kennedy Airport.
