A judge on Oct. 29 ordered a Chula Vista man to stand trial for grand theft in stealing an expensive wheelchair from a man with cerebral palsy and putting the wheelchair up for sale for $1,200 on Craigslist.
The judge also ordered Joseph Alfred Marshall, 26, to stand trial for receiving stolen property, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a meth pipe that was found in an eyeglass container found on top of the stolen wheelchair.
The incident occurred Sept. 7 between 2 and 4 a.m. when Richard Young, 50, suffered a seizure in his wheelchair on Third Avenue and Oxford Street. Marshall walked by and called 911. Paramedics and an ambulance arrived, but they could not take the 200-pound electric wheelchair.
Young told Chula Vista Police officers he gave his phone number to Marshall, whom he did not know, after Marshall promised to hold the wheelchair for him until he got out of the hospital. Marshall and Young live blocks away from each other.
Young’s family members complained to Chula Vista Police officials who posted a photo of the gray Tacha Sahara wheelchair online on Oct. 8.
Someone who saw the wheelchair being advertised on Craigslist for $1,200 informed police and they paid Marshall a visit.
Detective Scott Schneider told Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Patricia Garcia that one of Young’s family members identified the wheelchair in the Craigslist ad as belonging to the victim. Marshall told Schneider the chair did originally belonged to Young, but someone in his family said Young no longer needed it.
Officer Peter Stevens found an eyeglass case on the wheelchair for sale and Marshall told him the eyeglass case was his. Stevens opened it and found a glass pipe with .23 grams of methamphetamine inside, he testified. Marshall then said he had just found the eyeglass container.
Phillip Wright, a neighbor of Marshall’s, testified he posted the Craigslist ad for Marshall since Marshall didn’t have access to a computer. “He said he had a wheelchair for sale, had it for a long time,” said Wright.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick O’Toole said the wheelchair had been “entrusted” to Marshall who sought to profit from it.
Marshall’s attorney, Victoria Barana, told the judge there was “more to this story” than was presented at the preliminary hearing.
Young did not testify, as his speech is sometimes impaired.
Marshall pleaded not guilty and a trial date was set for Dec. 18. He remains in jail without bail.
