Carl Wallace decided the right way to respond to the burglary attempt at his Augusta, Georgia, restaurant was to invite the would-be burglar in for a chat about his future.
Rather than filing charges, the Diablo’s Southwest Grill owner welcomed the suspect to “swing by for a job application” in a Facebook post following the burglary attempt early Saturday morning.
“There are better opportunities out there than this path you’ve chosen,” Wallace wrote.
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Wallace explained in an interview with the Washington Examiner that he got the idea to extend an invitation to the suspect when he was writing to explain to customers why the front of the restaurant door would look such a mess, as the suspect launched a brick through the glass door of his restaurant to gain entry.
“My initial thought as I was writing the post … was [to use] a little bit of humor,” Wallace said, and the final draft did include some jokes.
“Our burritos are such a smash hit we’ve got people breaking in at 4am for their fix,” he wrote in the post. “So if ya see our door looking hurricane fabulous at Wheeler Rd this is why.”
Wallace explained that he then began to consider the suspect’s circumstances and decided a different sort of response was in order.
“I’m like, you know what? Let’s look at it from the robber’s perspective,” he said. “What are his goals in life? What is he trying to achieve? This can’t be a long-term career path for this individual.”
Wallace said he found himself wanting to ask the person, “Is breaking into restaurants at 4 a.m. going to help you get where you want to be?” He said the job application offer “came from really wanting to have that interaction and have that discussion.”
The Facebook post Wallace ended up posting gives out his personal cellphone number and says, “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.”
Since no one was hurt and nothing was stolen, it made it easier to be forgiving, Wallace said, adding that the time and date of the crime also had something to do with his response.
“Also, with it being Easter weekend, you kind of think of, you know, how would Jesus handle this?” Wallace explained.
Though the suspect hasn’t taken him up on his offer yet, Wallace insisted that he is still hopeful that it will happen.
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“I’m waiting for that phone call,” he said.
