Man Checks Footage of Hidden Cameras in His Garage and Sees Familiar Face of Homeless Boy

When the boy left, the grandpa assumed he would never return. But moments later, he closely observed the footage of the hidden cams that alerted him of unauthorized motion in his garage.

Straightening stubborn children for some of us might be a tough call to make. But for one grandfather on Reddit, he was left with no choice but to call the cops on his homeless step-grandson after checking the footage of hidden cameras in his garage.

The grandpa posting under california-old-timer admitted that he refused to drop the charges on the boy because he felt the lad needed to "learn his lesson and change" after catching him red-handed.

The Original Poster (OP) was the only adult relative listed on his step-grandson's emergency contact sheet. Unsurprisingly, he was often contacted by the boy's college Resident Assistant (RA) with a hefty load of complaints.

OP recognized his homeless step-grandson's face on the footage.

But recently, the boy broke his record by being quite the troublemaker in his student apartment. His antics cost him his cleaning job and his accommodation. He got kicked out and, with nowhere to go, landed on his grandfather's doorstep since he lived close by.

However, OP already had the certified letter from the boy's RA, so he knew why he was there. The boy told OP he wanted to live with him and demanded some money. But OP followed his instincts and gave his grandson two options.

One was a one-way return ticket to Michigan and the other was to take a job or a room with an old Navy friend of his. OP thought the second option would suit the boy better, but to his dismay, his grandson turned down both offers.

OP realized this was all he could do and, in the heat of the moment, told his grandson to leave and never return until he straightened out. OP then went shopping with his other grandson, assuming the boy would never return.

Moments later, OP's grandson showed him a camera alert on his phone and he recognized his homeless step-grandson's face on the footage. The boy had broken into his garage and tried to steal one of his cars. OP was livid and immediately called the cops.

He pressed charges on the boy, although it pained him to do it. He refused to drop the charges and felt tough love was what the boy needed to mend his ways.

After a lot of pondering, OP doubted his decision and turned to Reddit's "AITA" forum, where he asked random strangers for input.

"I love all of my Grandkids equally...But AITA for not dropping the charges because he needs to learn his lesson and change?" he doubtfully questioned.

Unsurprisingly, most took OP's side and found his decision reasonable. "You did not get your grandson arrested. He did that all by himself when he broke into your home and tried to take your car," asserted the post's top-voted commenter.

The person declared that if OP didn't press charges, his grandson would never rectify his mistakes. Redditor BigBrownBear28 likewise agreed and propounded:

"Please press charges. People like this don't learn till they hit absolute rock bottom. It will be a good wake-up call."

In the end, OP predicted that if he preferred not to drop the charges, his grandson would be able to get out within 2-3 years if he exhibited good behavior in the correctional facility.

"He can also work on his degree in there from what a lawyer friend says if he complies with everything, the record will be dropped," he conclusively mentioned and declared he was always open to other corrective measures to help his grandson mend his ways.

Questions to Ponder:

Would you press charges against your child/grandchild if they try to steal from you?

When OP witnessed his grandson breaking into his garage and trying to steal his car, he called the cops and pressed charges against him. He felt this was his last resort to help the boy rectify his mistakes and get on the right path before he landed on a destructive path in the future. Would you do the same if you find your child/grandchild stealing from you, or would you forgive them?

Like OP, would you forbid your child/grandchild to stay with you due to their erratic behavior and felonies?

In one of his earlier posts, OP admitted that he didn't allow his step-grandson to stay with him due to the boy's records of theft and lies. OP also declared he wouldn't mind making the boy homeless if he came to him without a proper plan or a job. Would you do the same to your child/grandchild if they constantly misbehaved and never mended their ways?

If you liked reading this story, here's one about a man who ghosted his wife and daughter after stealing all her money and begged to save his life 10 years later.

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