An Oklahoma woman who had her wallet swiped didn’t turn the culprit in, but instead did what she thought was the next best thing — she paid for his groceries.
Jessica Eaves of Guthrie did not call the cops when she realized her wallet was missing. Instead, she tracked down the prime suspect in the store and gave him the chance to avoid arrest.
“I said to him, ‘I think you have something of mine. I’m gonna give you a choice,'” Eaves told Yahoo!. “‘You can either give me my wallet and I’ll forgive you right now, and I’ll even take you to the front and pay for your groceries.'”
The man returned the wallet, and Eaves followed through on her promise, buying him milk, bread, bologna, crackers, soup and cheese, according to Yahoo!.
“The last thing he said was, ‘I’ll never forget tonight. I’m broke, I have kids, I’m embarrassed and I’m sorry,'” Eaves said.
Eaves, a United Way employee who is involved with the Christian Outreach, says it was an easy decision to help the “desperate” would-be thief.
“Some people are critical because I didn’t turn him in, but sometimes all you need is a second chance,” she said.
