Baltimore woman searches for Good Samaritan who returned stolen goods

A Baltimore woman is on a mission to find a neighbor who helped return her stolen boxes over the weekend.

Jiri Cruz started her Sunday morning learning that her car had been broken into. But while things were taken out of it, she also learned that her things were put on her doorstep.

For Cruz to really get any kind of closure for this, she wants to be able to thank this Good Samaritan in-person.

An act of kindness caught on camera

Piles of broken glass were still sitting in front of Cruz's home on Druid Hill Avenue Monday. Her broken windows were covered with garbage bags held in place with tape.

She didn't realize what happened to her car until a neighbor reached out to her Sunday morning, by that time it had been hours after the fact.

"There's been some improvements [in the neighborhood], but we still deal with a lot of crime issues. Somebody hit my car window, my car mirror, and I dealt with that. That was like a car accident; this [time] was actually intentional. This was planned, this was on purpose, this was a criminal act," Cruz said.

Inside the car were two big boxes filled with things to beautify and create a community garden in a green space in the Milton-Montford neighborhood.

They were bought with a grant and crowdfunded money.

"It wasn't my money I used to purchase these things, and I would have had to replace it eventually," Cruz said. "They're waiting for these items; my neighbors know it's coming."

So, Cruz reviewed her doorbell camera footage and, it turns out that her stolen packages were sitting on her doorstep. A neighbor can be seen carrying them and placing them there.

Cruz said a neighbor of hers saw this person confront the would-be thieves. She now wants to find them to recognize their act of kindness.

"I want to say thank you, I want to give them a hug and let them know what they actually did," she said.

What they actually did, according to Cruz, is help bring something positive to Charm City.

"In a city where there's just negative things happening on a daily basis, to have something positive it really impactful," Cruz said. "This is something positive for people in the neighborhood."

Thefts from cars in Baltimore

Baltimore Police's Public Crime Map shows there have been more than 1,900 cars that have been broken into so far this year.

Police remind people to keep valuables out of their cars, to keep car keys with them inside their homes, and to always lock their car doors.