Some neighbors really test your patience.

In this story, a man realized his gas can kept mysteriously emptying even though his lawnmower barely used any fuel.

After setting up a webcam, he caught his neighbor sneaking into the backyard to steal gas for his mower and car.

Instead of confronting him, he decided to set up a very unusual trap.

Read the full story below to find out more…

Gas Thief Revenge

I had a neighbor who would walk into my backyard.

He would take my gas can for my mower and put the gas in his car and mower.

Then, he would return the can. I found this out because I had begun to get a little suspicious.

This 5-gallon can was always nearly empty every time I went to mow the lawn.

This man set up a webcam in his backyard to catch his neighbor.

My lawnmower only has about a 1-quart tank.

This was back before cheap and easy security cameras.

So I had to set up a webcam from my laptop with motion detection software.

I caught the guy going into the backyard literally five minutes after I left the house.

He replaced the gas in the can with his own “fluid.”

For the next week, every time I had to take a leak, I do it in that gas can.

It was now full, but it still smelled enough like gas to fool an idiot.

Then, I left it on the back patio again.

I made a big show of checking the fluids in my car.

I packed a few bags and made sure the neighbor knew I was getting ready to go on a trip.

I made it look like I would be gone for a while.

He went back home and saw his neighbor having trouble starting his lawnmower.

I was hoping he would take the bait. I came back home in about an hour. Car trouble. 😉

The thief was in his front yard pulling the rope on his lawnmower.

He was pulling it so hard. It looked like he was going to have a stroke.

He was turning bright red and cursing.

He found out that the man had arrest warrants.

Later, he got in his car. He made it a couple of blocks up the road.

Then it suddenly broke down. I checked the gas can on my patio. It was empty.

This guy was a huge piece of crap. That was not the only thing he did.

I later found out he had arrest warrants, so I ended up getting him arrested.

I applied for a sheriff’s ride-along program in his name. It worked. 😆

Let’s read the responses of other people to this story.

This person loves the story.

This one, too.

Here’s what this user would have done.

People are impressed.

Finally, here’s another positive remark.

Nothing good comes from stealing!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.