GoFundMe Started For Man Who Had Wheelchair Stolen In The Heights

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A GoFundMe campaign was started on Tuesday by two Washington Heights residents to help a 75-year-old man whose electric wheelchair was recently stolen from outside a pharmacy.

On June 19, Upper Manhattanite James Jett parked his newly bought wheelchair outside the Asbell Pharmacy at 1600 Saint Nicholas Avenue and entered the store to pick up a set of prescriptions, according to police.

By the time Jett came back out of the pharmacy, the electric wheelchair that he had saved up to buy for more than a year was gone.

The pharmacy's surveillance video shows a man sitting down in the chair and driving off while Jett was in the store, according to NYPD. Police also released pictures last week of the suspect in the hopes of identifying him.

"We had the opportunity to meet him and hear his entire story and learn what he needs. Mr. Jett saved up for a year for the wheelchair, which he had only had for a few weeks before it was stolen," wrote Laurie Lewis and Myra Alperson, the two creators of the GoFundMe for Jett. "The wheelchair allows him to travel up and down the local hills and to go further than two blocks from his home. Without the wheelchair, he has to use a walker and struggles to navigate the streets."

As of Thursday morning, the GoFundMe for a new electric wheelchair has raised $1,905 of its $3,000 goal. The $3,000 goal also considers the $800 debt Jett owes on the stolen chair.

NYPD are hoping to identify the man pictured below in connection to the stolen wheelchair.

Editor's Note: GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.