Being robbed is traumatic. You feel violated and unsafe and you really miss what was stolen.

Fortunately, some criminals get caught. Check out the hilarious way this robbery victim got his car back.

Thief tried to steal my car, accidentally filled it up with gas and brought it back to me instead

My first car was a 1984 Jeep CJ7, a pretty sweet ride for a dirt poor teenager in the 90s. I was working midnights at a gas station and loaned it to my brother who was taking a date to a party.

I got a call around 1AM from my brother who told me he left the keys in the Jeep and it was stolen. I was devastated.

But the heartbreak didn’t last long.

I was still on the phone with my brother when the thieves pulled my Jeep into my gas station to fill up on gas.

As luck would have it, the gas gauge on my Jeep was broken and always read “empty” and I worked at the only 24 hour gas station in the area. I pressed the silent alarm and filled up my Jeep (it was a full serve station).

When the thieves were out of the jeep, I saw an opportunity to slip the key out of this ignition and into my pocket.

They paid for the gas, and argued amongst each other who had the keys last.

And victory was sweet.

The delay was enough for the police to arrive.

I had to explain the story to the officer half a dozen times before he understood.

The thieves had this stunned look of disbelief on their faces. I’ll never forget it.

The cops were belly-laughing telling the story to dispatch, all the while the thieves sat in cuffs in the back of the squad car.

The story made most of the major newspapers the following day.

Here is what folks are saying.

I hope the stereo wasn’t stolen.

Is it worth it? Sounds like a hassle.

Clean thieves are a little less of a pain.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Why are you happy about this?

This sounds like a Seinfeld episode.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.