Fortune favours the brave, they say, and turning up at a criminal's front door takes some guts. That's exactly what this LAD did to an unsuspecting thief after his son's camera equipment was stolen.
Tattoo parlour owner Tony Wallace, 51, confronted the culprit within 24 hours of the theft after being given the prolific thief's name and address via a tip-off on Facebook, despite being a 'big softie at heart'.
The visit not only managed to make the thief cry, but also persuaded him to hand back £3,000 ($3,954) worth of camera equipment to Tony's son Robert.
Tony, Robert and the retrieved equipment. Credit: Paul Jacobs/Pictureexclusive.com
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"I couldn't just sit there and do nothing, so had asked people on Facebook if they could keep an eye out for Robert's equipment," Tony said.
"Within 12 hours, my post had been shared 1,000 times and I'd been given the name and address of a prolific thief, so I paid him a visit.
"He was petrified and started crying, bless him, but he agreed to return it."
Photographer Robert had his camera and equipment stolen in September while unloading his car outside St Mary's Church in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in preparation for taking pictures at a wedding.
Robert was unable to carry all his equipment into the building at once so left some in his car for a few minutes, coming back to find his window smashed and the equipment gone.
The scene of the crime. Credit: Paul Jacobs/Pictureexclusive.com
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After they spoke with officers from Hampshire Police, Robert and Tony felt that the police didn't really care about Robert's livelihood, leading Tony to take matters into his own hands.
Tony posted a message on the Facebook page of his business, Family Tattoo, asking for information. Soon enough, he had received the suspect's name and address.
After passing these onto the police and again feeling slighted, Tony decided he should go and pay a visit himself, knocking on the thief's door and speaking with the man's wife.
I'd cry too if he knocked on my front door, to be fair. Credit: Paul Jacobs/Pictureexclusive.com
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"I just explained who I was and said I wanted my son's camera equipment back," Tony said.
"There were young children in the house so I was very polite and said that my son needed it for his job."
The thief's wife said that she would speak to her husband, who Tony believed was hiding upstairs.
Minutes after Tony left the house, he received a phone call from the thief who started crying down the phone, worried that people were going to 'get him'.
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"He then told me that he'd left it all in a bin and give me directions to find it," Tony explained.
"Sure enough, there it was. There was about £400 ($527) worth of stuff missing but most of it was there."
The equipment, now returned to its rightful owner. Credit: Paul Jacobs/Pictureexclusive.com
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A spokesman for Hampshire Police has advised other victims of crime not to follow in Tony's stead in confronting potential suspects, saying that it could put victims at further risk and negatively impact any investigation.
On this occasion, though, you have to say that acting on his own accord got Tony results. Fair play to him.
Featured Image Credit: Paul Jacobs/Pictureexclusive.comTopics: camera, Interesting, thief