After catching a neighbor stealing gas, homeowner set a quiet trap that left him in big trouble with the law
Small neighborhood issues can sometimes grow into long and strange stories. One homeowner began noticing that something was off every time he tried to mow his lawn. Gas kept disappearing, even though his mower used very little fuel. He later realized his neighbor was secretly stealing gas from his yard to use for daily tasks like mowing the lawn. After confirming what was happening, he decided to take matters into his own hands and planned a quiet form of revenge that would eventually lead to police involvement. The incident was shared by a Reddit user on Saturday, January 24, 2026, who goes by the username u/MarchCompetitive6235, where it quickly drew attention for how it unfolded.
In his Reddit post, the man explained that his neighbor had a habit of walking into his backyard, taking gas from his can, using it for his own car and lawnmower, and then returning the empty container. He began to suspect something was wrong when his five-gallon gas can was “always nearly empty,” even though his lawnmower only had “like a 1-quart tank.” At first, he could not figure out how the gas was disappearing. Since this happened before affordable security cameras were common, he decided to set up a laptop webcam with motion detection software. Not long after, he caught the neighbor on video entering his yard and taking the gas “literally five minutes after I left the house,” confirming his suspicions.
After learning the truth, the homeowner decided not to confront the neighbor directly. Instead, he quietly watched and planned his revenge. "For the next week, every time I had to take a piss, I pissed in that gas can. Now full of piss, but still smells enough like gas to fool an idiot. Then I left it on the back patio again," he revealed. He also made a point of letting the neighbor believe he would be away for a while. On the day he put his plan into motion, he acted as if he were going on a trip, checking his car and packing bags where the neighbor could see him.
When he returned home about an hour later, he found the neighbor in his front yard repeatedly pulling the cord on his lawnmower, struggling and shouting in frustration. "It looks like he’s going to have a stroke." Soon after, the neighbor tried to drive away but only made it a few blocks before his car broke down. When the homeowner checked his patio, the gas can was empty again.
The story did not end there. The Reddit user later added that the neighbor had a history of other bad behavior and ongoing legal trouble. In the comments, he explained that the neighbor once asked him to drop off an application that was already filled out with personal details. Around the same time, the homeowner remembered a conversation with a friend from the sheriff’s department, who had mentioned that people applying for ride-alongs are checked for arrest warrants. Using that knowledge, he submitted a ride-along request online using the neighbor’s information. Authorities then discovered the outstanding warrants, and the neighbor was arrested.