Meanwhile in Georgia: Man Offered Job at Restaurant After He Attempted to Rob It

They say crime doesn’t pay…but in this case, it got a thief a job offer. Over Easter weekend, a hooded man threw a brick through the glass door of Diablo’s in Augusta, Georgia. He gained access to the burrito joint and went straight for the cash register as the alarm blared. But he didn’t find any money, so he left.

The owner, Carl Wallace, was understandably angry and upset when he heard about the break-in. Realizing he’d have to cover the broken door with pieces of plywood, he took to Facebook to explain what happened so customers would understand where the mess came from. Then it occurred to him: why not address the thief directly?

“It really kind of occurred to me (that it’s) … Easter weekend and to just extend an olive branch,” he told Today. “You know, extend the layer of forgiveness and kindness and give the … would-be robber some redemption and a different path.”

So here’s what Wallace wrote in the post:

Our burritos are such a smash hit we’ve got people breaking in at 4am for their fix. So if ya see our door looking hurricane fabulous at Wheeler Rd this is why. To the would be robber who is clearly struggling with life decisions or having money issues… please swing by for a job application. There are better opportunities out there than this path you’ve chosen. My personal cell is 706-513-3557. No police, no questions. Let’s sit down and talk about how we could help you and fix the road you’re on. Sincerely Carl

The post went viral, garnering praise from all over the world. While Wallace hasn’t heard from the robber yet, he’s sticking to his promise not to press charges if he does eventually come forward.

“Putting this person through incarceration to then get out to make it harder to find a good-paying job. It only makes it worse. Sometimes … even I feel that our system in life is broken sometimes for some people … We’ve been doing the same thing for 200 years and it’s not worked,” he said. “Maybe everybody should offer some kindness and a way to help the fellow person versus continuing to harm what is already broken.”

It’s a compassionate approach…though one has to wonder why you’d give a robber easy access to a cash register. It’s pretty clear what he was after – and it wasn’t a job making burritos. Extending kindness doesn’t always mean you’ll get kindness in return. But who are we to judge? Maybe if more criminals were offered opportunities rather than jail time, there’d be less crime in the world. We don’t know. What we do know is that now we’re hungry for Diablo’s delicious burritos.

Cover Photos: Facebook

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