Car Thief Blasts Mom for Bad Parenting
The local press is calling it a morality tale. We here at Legal Grounds are calling it business as usual.
Shortly before the season of giving and getting began, a man in Galveston, Texas, stole a car. This is indeed business as usual. The twist is he brought it back about five minutes after taking it. Why? There was a child in the back seat.
An unnamed woman and her boyfriend decided to go fishing the week before Thanksgiving down in Galveston, reports The Daily News. Deciding that the weather was too cold for her two-year-old, the woman returned the boy to the car, strapped him into the seat and left the heater (and thus, the car) running while she went to do the more important job of helping her boyfriend with the fishing tackle.
The woman planned to leave the child in the car only long enough to retrieve the fishing equipment, Galveston police Capt. Jeff Heyse told The Daily News.
However, lurking nearby was a man, "thought to be homeless," who saw his chance to grab the prize of a free Mitsubishi Eclipse. According to The Daily News, he hopped in the car, took off and drove though the first intersection. Then he turned around.
On bringing the car back the "victim," the mom asked the alleged thief what the hell he thought he was doing. Reasonably, he asked the same of her. According to Capt. Heyse, the car thief made a few additional comments about why would you leave a kid in the car? Excellent question.
Police did not cite the woman for the bad parenting move of the year: leaving her two-year-old unattended in a running car. Had the police did caught the "car thief" they would have charged him with theft and arrested him. It can only be hoped "mom" learned a small lesson here. Kid first, fishing equipment a distant second.
Related Resources:
- Police: Thief returns car, chastises mom, after realizing child was inside (KHOU)
- Theft/Larceny (FindLaw)
- Alleged Car Thief Caught Playing Grand Theft Auto Video Game (FindLaw's Legally Weird)