A family’s truck and Christmas gifts were stolen and when SAPD found it abandoned, what was left behind in the backseat left them stunned — and full of faith.
SAN ANTONIO — What started as a joyful afternoon of Christmas shopping quickly turned into a nightmare for Justin Charo and his sister.
In just about 30 minutes, their truck was stolen — along with hundreds of dollars’ worth of Christmas gifts — from the parking lot of an Academy Sports + Outdoors store at Potranco Village on the city’s West Side.
“The sun was out. It was really nice, and we took off,” Charo said, describing the start of their Thursday afternoon.
Charo said he and his sister spent the day visiting several stores to get a head start on shopping ahead of a family gift exchange planned for Saturday.
“That’s where we decided to do our shopping there, our last bit of shopping,” he said of Academy.
They went inside around 1:30 p.m. and were only gone about 30 minutes. When they came back out, the truck was gone.
“I walked out and I noticed that the truck was missing,” Charo said. “I was looking all around and I couldn’t find it. I was like, ‘I thought I left it right there?’ Then I looked at my sister and said, ‘I think the truck’s missing. I think it just got stolen.’”
The realization was overwhelming.
“My truck’s missing. How am I gonna get home? What am I gonna do?” he said.
Charo immediately called police to report the theft around 1:45 p.m.
Hours later, between 5 and 6 p.m., he received a call that brought relief: officers had found his Chevrolet Silverado abandoned on the East Side, near 142 Stolnet St. and South WW White.
“As soon as that call ended I was like, ‘Yes!’ I was so excited,” Charo said.
A neighbor in the area reported the truck after noticing it had been sitting there for some time and did not belong to anyone in the neighborhood.
Charo said truck was parked along the side of a house with its doors open, but it was still drivable.
“With the truck, all they did was just take off the light bar,” he said. “Other than that the truck is good and ready to go.”
But inside, the family discovered their Christmas had been taken.
“Of course they took all the gifts and stuff,” Charo said.
His sister’s purse was also missing. But in the backseat, something from inside that purse had been deliberately left behind.
“The only thing they left behind was this Bible,” Charo said.
Inside the Bible were his sister’s identification and credit cards — untouched.
Charo said the moment felt like more than coincidence.
“One thing they didn’t take was our faith, how good God has been towards us,” he said. “God is watching. He’s watching everything. You reap what you sow.”
While the family has not yet been able to replace the stolen gifts, Charo said he was able to recover and replace his vehicle title, which had also been taken.
For now, he’s focused on what matters most.
“I’m just really glad me and my sister are safe,” he said.
Charo said he hopes sharing his story will encourage others to take extra precautions, like using tracking devices or added security.
“Get an Apple AirTag, maybe a kill switch for the truck so it could be a little more safer,” he said.
Despite what happened, the family says they do not wish harm on whoever took their truck.
“I don’t wish bad upon anybody,” Charo said. “I hope they can learn from this and they can find a way to change their lives doing something good, something better.”
The theft remains under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact San Antonio police.