Man on riding lawnmower aids Lincoln Police in catching criminal

A man is behind bars after leading officers on a chase through a Lincoln neighborhood. 

But it wasn’t officers who initially caught him — it was a man on a riding lawnmower. 

Lincoln Police say officers were responding to a fraud in progress at a Wells Fargo bank location. 

The bank manager reported a woman attempted to cash a $2,800 check in the drive-through, but was told she could only get $1,000 back. 

Police say the woman changed her mind and asked for her check and ID back, which the bank manager thought was suspicious. 

The manager called the phone number associated with the ID provided by the woman and discovered it had been stolen. 

When officers arrived, the woman, 41-year-old Debra Grebas, sped out of the lot. 

Police say Grebas lost control and struck a curb. 

Grebas was arrested, but her passenger, 23-year-old Deandre France ran from the vehicle, prompting LPD to send out its K9 unit and the Nebraska State Patrol helicopter. 

As France was running through a neighborhood, a man, who police did release the identity of, chased after him on his riding lawnmower and caught him shortly before police arrived and took France into custody. 

Grebas was arrested for 2nd degree forgery and France was arrested for criminal possession of a transaction device.