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Inept Car Thieves Couldn't Drive Fri January 3, 2003 10:20 AM ET EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - Two would-be Canadian thieves learned the hard way on New Year's Day that knowing how to drive a car is a prerequisite for stealing one. Police said the two males accosted a pizza delivery man in northeast Edmonton, Alberta, early Wednesday and demanded the four pizzas he was carrying as well as cash. The bandits, aged 17 and 18, apparently changed their minds at one point and jumped into the man's car. But their getaway was foiled because the 17-year-old behind the wheel did not know how to drive a stick shift. Flummoxed by the manual transmission and clutch, the duo then went back to their original plan to commandeer the pizzas, Edmonton Police spokesman Wes Bellmore said. "It was a toss-up between pizzas and the car, and they knew how to operate pizzas," Bellmore said. When officers soon arrived on the scene, they spotted one of the suspects entering the home where the pizzas were to be delivered. Both were arrested and have been charged with robbery and theft under $3,000. Police also recovered the pizzas.

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