Forgetful Thief Gets Busted By Victim Who Doesn’t Calls Cops – But Calls His Mother
I have a totally HEARTWARMING robbery story for you guys! That’s right, a robbery story that will totally make your day! Eliza Webb, who lives in a neighborhood in Seattle, was leaving for work when she noticed her car didn’t look quite right. Things were moved around and her first instinct was to blame her husband because she assumed he had been looking for something in her car and moved some things around. But then she noticed an unfamiliar looking cell phone on the passenger seat and she realized her sunglasses and running shoes were missing. Scrolling through the phone, she realized it belonged to a teenager and what did she find under the phone contacts starting with the letter “M”? That’s right, a listing for someone named MOM. According to Komonews.com:
Instead of calling the police, Webb decided to take a different route to justice.
“Then I called his mom,” she said.
Webb told the man’s mother she just wanted her sunglasses and running shoes back.
“I said, ‘This is a very uncomfortable phone call to make. I have your son’s phone and I’m missing some things out of my car and I think they might be two related items,’ and she was devastated,” Webb said.
Webb and her husband decided to go to the teen’s house. The 19-year-old answered the door all sheepish and teary eyed and then Webb and her husband escorted the young man and his accomplice door-to-door and the boys apologized and returned the items that belonged to the twelve people whose cars they had broken into because they were “drunk and bored.” The young men couldn’t remember every car they had broken into, so they visited all the homes in the neighborhood and explained their story to every resident and asked them if they were missing belongings including cell phones, laptop chargers and hats.
“So we asked if he would be interested in going door-to-door and seeing if we can track down some of the owners and apologize,” Webb said.
The teens agreed, and not long after that first meeting they began their apology tour of the neighborhood.
“I was just amazed they were getting this chance to redeem themselves,” said neighbor Marcy Budiansky.
According to The Seattle Times, Webb works with at-risk teens and her own husband had gotten busted for underage drinking when he was 20, so she understood that involving the police could have very severe and long-term consequences for the boys. She wanted to find another way to have them make amends rather than go to the police. The mom and thief told the paper on condition of anonymity:
”I’m actually kind of glad it happened,” said the 19-year-old. ”It felt terrible to hear that people are worried and feel like they have to lock the door because of what I did. In a funny way, I feel closer to my neighbors and kind of look forward to seeing them around in different circumstances.”
His mother said, ”I’m deeply grateful to Eliza for taking the time to become personally involved with my son and giving him the chance to go face-to-face with the people he victimized and make amends.
”Kids need somebody besides their own parents looking at them and holding them accountable. She did a beautiful thing.”
This story will have an even happier ending during the neighborhood block party this summer because both teen boys will be getting up in front of their neighbors and reading letters of apology. The only thing I’m wondering is what if the cops shows up at the party to arrest the teens? I love this because even though the boys did a pretty rotten thing, it seems like what Eliza did was so smart, because I’m sure this is going to make a huge impact on the boy’s lives and will make a big difference in the neighborhood because now all the teens who live there are going to be pretty cautious about going on crime sprees. It’s all just so awesome. I want to hug everybody!
(Image: Komonews)
