Thief Sells Stolen Car To 72 Year Old, Original Owner Lets Him Keep It

In an unusual gesture of kindness, a man from Boonville, Ind., let a elderly man keep his stolen car.

The car, a 1993 model Chrysler, was stolen last week from Derek West’s grandfather’s house, where it had been sitting idle for over a year. The thief, Donald Grigsby, took the car away and sold it for $300 to the 72-year-old man, whose name has not been revealed.

Later, after the purchase, the septuagenarian had some reservations about the price of the car, after which he decided to look up its original owner. Since the car had its original license number on, he was able to home in on Derek West and called him up to discuss the matter; the thief made contact even easier by selling the car to the elderly gentleman under the rightful owner’s name.

Elated at the prospect of getting his car back, Derek arrived at the home of the man, who was visibly upset over the way in which he was fleeced off his money.

The meeting however changed everything.

After seeing the trouble the senior citizen had gone through and appreciating his honesty, West decided to let him keep the car, deciding that he needed the car more than he did.

In an interview to local television network WFIE, Derek says, “…72-years-old and fixed income. Stuff like that. He was out $300, he was out the money and he was just, really upset. He told us, ‘Too good to be true.’ I just drove the car for several years as a work car… By the time it was over, I worked it out, I just wound up giving him the car. He needed it worse than I did.”

Meanwhile, police have managed to arrest the car thief, 46-year-old Donald Grigsby of Evansville, Ind. He was apprehended by the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office on April 13. Grigsby was apparently caught because he had signed the receipt for the car using his social security number.

What do you think about Derek West’s kind gesture? Would you have done the same thing in his place?

[Image via WFIE]