Would-Be Car Thief Sent Packing After 9-Year-Old Takes a Stand

KOKOMO, IN — A Kokomo man made a dumb mistake — he left his car unlocked, with the engine running, with his nine-year-old inside.

A thief attempted to capitalize on his mistake, but wasn’t planning on the little man’s stalwart, pellet gun-based defense.

The resulting scrap led to a different car being stolen, and an entire high-speed chase.

As WTHR reports:

All of this started at the One Stop Express on the corner of Washington and Jefferson in Kokomo, then ended at the American Tool Rental on South Lafountain Street.

Kevin Cooksey and Kyle Sparling stopped by the One Stop as strangers for different reasons… They didn’t know they’d end up leaving together and chasing after someone they say tried to steal both their cars.

“When I saw my truck door open, I was like, ‘oh my God, what am I going to tell my wife?’” said Cooksey. That’s because Cooksey’s 9 year old son, Larry Larimore, was inside – with the engine running. “I was thinking, I hope my son knew what to do in that situation,” said Cooksey.

“As soon as he opened the door, I got scared,” said Larimore. “So I pulled out the pellet gun and pointed it to his head.”

That scared the man enough to get him out of the truck, but then he ran into the next car down – Sparling’s black Trail Blazer, which also had its engine running.

“I didn’t know what to think, I just kind of ran outside and watched him,” said Sparling.

“I wanted to go catch the guy,” said Cooksey. “It’s just one of those instincts to help out somebody else.”

Cooksey told Sparling to get in the truck with them. They called the police and chased the suspect down Washington Street… After a couple miles, the suspect crashed Sparling’s car. Larimore says he’s glad he and his dad were able to help track the suspect down.

I think every boy with a pellet gun has thought about using it to right wrongs to heroic, out-of-its caliber affect. This boy got to live the dream and save the day, without a shot being fired.

Well done.

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