The grief and sorrow of a loved one’s funeral was compounded by an act of brazen auto theft in Los Angeles over the holiday weekend. Jonte Lee Reed, 19, was being laid to rest at Ebenezer Baptist Church in South Los Angeles when the funeral director left the hearse running and the body unattended while he adjusted a floral arrangement before the start of the funeral. When he returned to retrieve the casket, the hearse was gone.
The funeral director called his staff and the family to let them know what had just happened. Shortly after the call, the family noticed a hearse rolling through the neighborhood and gave chase. While the hearse was stopped at a traffic light, the irate family members confronted the driver and a verbal and physical altercation ensued. Police arrived on the scene and arrested the unidentified driver and charged him with auto theft. The suspect will also have a mental health evaluation based on his actions and behavior. The body of Jonte Lee Reed was undisturbed and the funeral proceeded only 30 minutes behind schedule. According to the church, nothing like this has ever happened before in the South Los Angeles community.
