Car Thief Steals Vehicle With Child Inside, Immediately Returns It and Apologizes

There have been a lot of stories over the years of a parent running in somewhere for a couple of minutes, only to come outside to see their car has been stolen with their child in the back seat.

A lot of the time, the child is recovered, but it takes time, and there’s always a danger that something will happen before the child is found, even if the car thief isn’t the one who does it.

Too many criminals may not intend to steal a car with a kid in it, but they’re not going to put themselves once they discover that they did.

This one thief isn’t like the others.

A man stole a car from a gas station in Cocoa, Florida, last Tuesday with a 1-year-old child in the back seat — and then seconds later returned the vehicle and apologized to the mother, police said.

William Mullis, 53, is seen on surveillance video outside a Sunoco station off U.S. Highway 1 walking toward the victim’s car, WESH-TV reported, citing an arrest affidavit.

Mullis drove toward the gas station exit, made a right turn on Highway 1 — but seconds later backed up, re-entered the gas station area, and parked in a space in front of the gas station store, WESH said.

The mother of the 1-year-old child ran out of the gas station store and confronted Mullis, WESH said, adding that the mother told investigators Mullis said he wouldn’t have stolen the car had he known a baby was inside.

Mullis apologized, then fled the scene. He was later apprehended.

Now, I’m not going to pretend a car thief is a stand-up guy. He’s still a thief.

However, I’m going to pay him a bit of respect for at least having enough of a line that he wouldn’t cross that he endangered his own freedom to give the car back and to apologize to the mother.

Is he less of a scumbag than others, or just dumber than the others? I’m sure his friends in prison will have opinions on the matter, but the reality is that he didn’t want to take a kid.

He’s still charged with kidnapping, among other things, though I think he’s got a better chance of reaching a plea bargain that will drop that particular charge under the circumstances. Then again, maybe not. I honestly don’t know.

What I do know is that I’d really rather see situations like this play out than some of the alternatives, such as a car being abandoned in the middle of nowhere with the kid still in the back seat on a hot Georgia August. Kids die like that. When the car is returned moments later, they’re probably going to be just fine.

Dude still deserves prison time, mind you, but at least he didn’t kill a kid trying to cover his own posterior.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.