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‘What Happened To The Good Samaritan?’ Man Allegedly Stole Cell Phone From Dying Air Force Vet
"She was a firecracker," a friend said of Jackie Olden, who was allegedly robbed of her phone while suffering a heart attack on a St. Louis sidewalk.
A man who allegedly robbed a woman of her cell phone while she lay dying on a sidewalk from a heart attack has been arrested, police said.
Surveillance footage captured retired school worker Jackie Olden collapsing on a sidewalk in front of a St. Louis brewery while jogging around 1 p.m. on Oct. 18, ABC affiliate KAKE reported. She can be seen in the video attempting to make a call on her phone as she struggles to to stand up.
At around 1:13 p.m. a red minivan, driven by 35-year-old Brian Davenport, pulls into the frame. He gets out and appears to chat with another individual who is on the scene. Davenport then approaches Olden. While the other bystander is on the phone with his back turned, Davenport allegedly reaches down and snatches the woman’s phone.
Olden was later rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department arrested Davenport on Monday after publicly circulating the surveillance footage, CBS19News.com reported. He was charged with felony stealing.
Friends of Olden described the Air Force veteran, who served in Operation Desert Storm, as a mentor, community leader, and a natural teacher, who loved to learn.
“Well, her warm presence, but she was in the military, so you knew she didn't play,” friend Marlon Lee told KSDK.
Lee condemned Davenport’s unwillingness to help Olden as “horrendous.”
“Someone being in such a toxic position to where they can not be that good Samaritan to assist her but to take her cell phone while she was still fighting for life: it's horrendous, but I do know, that person needs help,” he added.
"We're still kind of in shock over the whole thing," Pastor Adam Medina told KMOV. "What happened to the good Samaritan?”
Medina said Olden will be remembered as a “firecracker.”
"She had a lot of energy she used to give to everybody,” he said. “She loved the idea of community."
The former school worker was also mourned by colleagues at St. Louis’ Rossman School where she worked in the kitchen.
"For seven years, her bright smile and positive spirit were an encouragement to all who entered the Dining Room, and she modeled strength of character and bravery to our students when she shared stories of her service in the Air Force during last year’s Veterans Day assembly,” the school wrote on Facebook.
Only last week, staff at Rossman School threw Olden a belated retirement party.
"As a head of school and as a parent, there is no finer person that I would want for our children to spend their days with than someone of the character of Jackie Olden,” Elizabeth Zurlinden, Rossman Head of School, told KSDK.
It’s unclear if Davenport has yet entered a plea or retained legal representation.
