Associated Press
MEDFORD, Ore. — A 75-year-old Navy vet gave a would-be thief three stiff whacks with his cane Monday and retrieved a can full of money he had been collecting for Disabled American Veterans.
"That money is veterans’ money," Richard Powers said, "and I wasn’t about to let him get away with it."
Darren Lukkes, 36, is accused of grabbing Powers’ collection can outside a supermarket and running away. Powers caught up with the suspect across the parking lot and whacked him through the open window of his U-Haul.
Powers said his cane fell into the truck, so he opened the door, grabbed his cane and struck the man again.
After one more whack, the man identified as Lukkes dropped the can — containing about $100 — and sped off, Powers said.
Passersby followed the truck and called police.
Lukkes was apprehended after he reportedly jumped from the moving truck, driven by his wife.
"After he hit the pavement at 20 mph, he was done," Medford police Sgt. Roy Skinner said. "There was no more fight in him."
Lukkes was being held in the Jackson County Jail on $18,000 bail on charges of robbery, possession of methamphetamine, theft and driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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