This kind of stuff drives me nuts…

I’m talking about THIEVES.

They’re really the bottom of the barrel!

And that’s why we think you’ll enjoy this story from Reddit’s “Petty Revenge” page.

Take a look at what happened!

How to catch a thief.

“Me (35f) and my SO (35m) live in a 102 year old house in a small town in a rural farming community on the west coast. This particular area has been hit hard with thefts from tweakers and other drug addicts.

So a few months ago we got cameras to put up, including a doorbell camera. We share a driveway with our neighbors and are very good friends with all of them. They are a large family with lots of kids that live in a very large old school house.

The mother is elderly (and very sweet) and most all the kids are grown that she had either adopted or fostered. 2 adult children still live there. One just himself and the other has a partner and four children. Her oldest is in elementary school.

Something was fishy…

A few days ago in the morning I found the door of the gas tank on my car open. This prompted me to make a mental note to look at my footage from the cameras later that afternoon when I got home.

I also found a large pocket knife on the ground next to the gas tank of our other vehicle that didn’t belong to us or our neighbors (I sent them a picture of it and asked).

That afternoon I checked my cameras and found that at 6:40 am someone in a Chevy SUV had parked just at the end of the driveway on the other side of the fence.

They then proceeded to walk up and down my driveway 3 times, walk up to our garage door and look around in it (didn’t go in) and then up onto our front porch looking for something.

In the footage it shows he was carrying a length of plastic tubing. It was obvious he was after gas and had tried to siphon both our vehicles and when he couldn’t get anything out of them (one was empty and the other wouldn’t open from the outside) he was searching for a can to steal.

We had one empty gas can where he didn’t see it so he ended up walking away with nothing. HA!

Who was this guy…?

So I downloaded the videos and sent them to my neighbors to see if they recognized him. They texted me back immediately and told me it was one of their brothers who is a drug addict and is trespassed off their property and has a history of theft also.

They encouraged me to contact the sheriff and file a report. I also made several vague (no names or who I think it is) posts on some local community pages with the videos asking for information.

I was given a few leads but the majority consensus was pointing to the neighbors brother. I gave ALL of this information along with the videos and pictures of the knife to the sheriff for the report.

The deputy that took my report said “[neighbor’s brother] is a thorn in MANY people’s sides.” The way he said it and the feeling I got from the whole interaction was that they were watching him closely and have some kind of ongoing case with him.

They also asked if I had made any posts online and I told him I had, was very vague and only asked for information. So that’s where I’m currently at with the legal aspects of it.

It was revenge time…

My petty revenge:

Since I still had that gas can that the thief didn’t see I decided to utilize it. But I needed more supplies. I needed some gas, paper, vaseline, fishing line, glitter, a sharpie, sugar, and some tape.

I went and put about a half gallon of gas in the can (for the smell) then added a cup and a half of sugar, a bunch of glitter and topped it off with water from the hose.

I then taped a note (“Smile! You’re on camera!”) to the bottom of the can and attached it with the fishing line (so he couldn’t see the line and it would take him a few extra seconds grab it) to our porch right below the doorbell camera where it can be seen.

Lastly I smeared Vaseline on the underside of the can handle along with a bunch more glitter.

Now with the trap baited and set, I wait.”

Now let’s see how folks reacted on Reddit.

One person had additional tips.

This Reddit user shared their thoughts.

Another individual doesn’t think this was a great idea.

One reader said they should let the police handle it.

Another reader had a lot to say about this.

We’re gonna need a follow-up story!

Nice work!

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.