An Omaha car repairman finds himself in a fix, he says a man he thought was a good Samaritan stole his truck, keys to his house and business and took close to 5-thousand dollars from him.
Clarence Pancake was helping a stranded driver near 114th and Blondo Tuesday evening when a random person walked up and asked if he needed help.
Pancake said sure, but it turns out the good Samaritans' intentions were no so pure.
"Guy walking along the street asked if he could help--okay yeah I'll take your help," said Pancake.
It was a supposedly friendly offer that Pancake wished he would have declined.
"You think he's just a good Samaritan and just like you are and he does that --what the heck is going on here?" explained Pancake.
This happened Tuesday evening, a customer's mother was having car trouble at Papillion Parkway and Blondo streets.
As Pancake looked at the car, his keys were still in his trucks's ignition with the engine running and the not-so-good Samaritan jumped in and drove off.
"So I turn around to see where he is at and my truck is right beside me darn near hits a car backing out --car goes by and takes off down there street," said Pancake.
A turn of events Pancake didn't see coming.
"Kind of in shock because the truck is going down the street trying to figure out where he is going," said Pancake.
Just minutes later, police and the customer's friend found Pancake's truck a few blocks away at an apartment complex.
"That's my truck it sticks out like a sore thumb," said Pancake.
But Pancake says a few important things inside were missing. His backup camera, a briefcase full of 3-days worth of money totaling over $4,700 and his keys which forced him to replace all of his locks for security reasons.
But what Pancake lost the most was his sense of trust in the average "good Samaritan".
"There's no trust factor no more--if someone offers to help--continue on your way--I don't need it," said Pancake.
Omaha police are still searching for the suspect. Pancake describes him as about 6-feet tall, in his early 30s-40s without facial hair and he was wearing a brown coat and stocking cap and may have been wearing glasses.
Call crimestoppers at 402-444-STOP.
