Thief stole man’s car, tools while he pressure washed parking lot

By Emily Rittman

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — While working to earn a living, thieves ripped off a man by taking the tools he needs and the car he depends on.

His vehicle is one of thousands taken in Kansas City every year. Last year, 4,430 vehicles were reported stolen in KC. According to Kansas City police, from January to July of this year 2,447 vehicles were reported stolen in Kansas City, Missouri.

On Wednesday, Ward Gibson received good and bad news. Police found his stolen car but his power tools that were inside his car are gone. He needs them for work.

Fav Trip’s President and CEO Babir Sultan decided he wanted to try to help. KCTV5 first introduced viewers to Sultan back in 2018 when he began sharing viral shoplifting videos with commentary. His locations have a large following on social media, including Facebook and YouTube.

The video he created about Gibson’s car theft was different. In the video, he asked anyone with information about the car theft to call police.

Around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, Ward Gibson was pressure washing the parking lot of a Fav Trip location off Blue Ridge Blvd in Kansas City.

“It’s 1:30 a.m. in the morning and he is trying to make a living. Not too long ago, a month ago, he suffered severe burns,” Sultan said. “He was at somebody else’s job site. He was out of commission for a while. He was at the hospital. He finally got permission from his doctor to start working.”

What Gibson didn’t know that morning was that a thief spotted his car with the trunk open. The suspect is seen on surveillance video hopping out of van and into Gibson’s car.

“He just took off with the trunk flopping, it just makes me so mad,” Gibson said. “I still can’t believe they were so close to me when they did it. I mean, I wasn’t more than 15 feet away.”

Gibson admits he made a costly mistake by leaving his keys inside.

“Yes, he should not have had his key in there. He recognizes his mistake and regrets it, obviously, but still it doesn’t mean somebody should take off with anybody’s car or tools,” Sultan said. “It’s just wrong. Not only his car but his tools and everything. His livelihood basically.”

Gibson was notified that police found his stolen car. He went to the impound lot Wednesday to pay for the tow and had to hire a locksmith to make a new key.

“It will get me home all right,” Gibson said, noticing damage to his car. It appears the thief crashed his car, but it was still drivable. His tools are gone.

Sultan shared surveillance video of the crime and created a GoFundMe account to try to help replace the tools stolen from Gibson while he worked.

“I really appreciate all the effort to help me. [I need all the] help I can get because I’ve got to replace all my tools now, start all over,” Gibson said. “It’s nice to know there’s still people like that around.”

As for Gibson, he is hoping his string of unfortunate events are over. “Just get back out and get back to work,” Gibson said.

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