(WHDH) — A crook decked out in reindeer slippers is facing charges after he was caught on video yanking a woman out of her wheelchair during a robbery last month, officials said.
Austin Shurbutt, 26, was arrested Saturday after a video of him assaulting and robbing a woman of her wheelchair was posted by the Phoenix Police Department and viewed thousands of times.
As a train pulled into 12th Street-Jefferson station on Nov. 29, police say Shurbutt dumped the victim to the ground and took off with her wheelchair.
The video showed the victim desperately trying to hang onto a handrail as Shurbutt wrestled with her.
Fortunately, a number of good Samaritans stepped in and retrieved the wheelchair, according to police.
Shurbutt fled the area but he was arrested nine days later on charges including robbery, kidnapping, and assault.
“Despite his reindeer slippers, this criminal was not spreading holiday cheer,” the department wrote on Facebook.
Police say Shurbutt was still wearing the reindeer slippers at the time of his arrest.
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