Man has the final chuckle when car thief who stole his wallet tries using his cards at gas stations

While incidents of robbery can be extremely distressing, a musician from Houston decided to laugh at the thief who targeted him. Michael Rowlands Jr. (@dressy.fits) found surprising humor in what could have otherwise been a distressing situation when his car was broken into and his wallet was stolen—only for the thief to realize he had targeted someone even more in need of financial help than himself. The video was shared by Rowlands on his TikTok where it garnered significant attention with over 35 million views. 

In the video, Rowlands was heard saying, "To the idiot who broke into my car and is trying to use my credit cards at the local gas station, I am actually getting real-time notifications like 'Your card was declined. Your Capital One was declined. Your Bank of America was declined.' How does it feel to know that you broke into the car of someone who is more broke than you?" According to Newsweek, the man had returned to his car after a workout session at a local gym to find his car window smashed and his wallet missing. While an anxious Rowlands stood there baffled, what happened next turned a typical crime story into a moment of laughter. As the man was waiting for the Houston Police to arrive, his phone was flooded with notifications. They were about the thief using his stolen credit cards at a gas station only to face rejection after rejection due to insufficient funds. 

Talking to the outlet, Rowlands recalled the funny incident and said, "I started laughing when I saw them because I could see he was probably getting more frustrated than I was. He was trying to buy gas. Was probably stranded as a result, or at least I hoped so." Rowlands revealed that he decided to share the incident on the internet because he thought people would find it as funny as he did. "TikTok is such a great place for just open and random thought processing and honestly I was in shock at the sheer karma of it all," he added. His video received an overwhelming response from the people.

@hanabanana wrote, "I respect how you can still make people laugh." @j.jefferson.artist shared a similar incident that happened to him as he wrote, "It’s happened to me too, here in Houston, at a Barnaby’s Cafe. Go to Atlas Glass on W. Dallas, they’re quite cheap with replacing windows. I’m sorry this happened to you." @britneykeismommy also related to the humorous incident and wrote, "Happened to me. They went to the gas station first and it declined for $1.50. I died laughing like buddy all my accounts are negative." @skittles_sopretty wrote, "I'm sorry that happened to you... but your humor is top tier." On a lighter note, @tiffanyann took a dig at Rowland and commented, "At this point, they should just give it back and give you $20."

A few days later, Rowlands shared another TikTok video, this time revealing CCTV footage of the thief and his silver Jeep. He also explained how he had parked his car right next to the thief, suggesting that’s when the thief must have noticed his wallet. "I know he has long, black curls because I saw the shape of the curls whenever he darted his head over and he also has facial hair," Rowlands said pointing at his chin. He concluded the video by urging his audience to help find and catch the thief. 

You can follow Michael Rowlands Jr. (@dressy.fits) on TikTok for more such content.