“Y’all Did Perfect!” Police Praise BBQ Food Truck Owners for Handing Over a Burglar at Gunpoint

July 25, 2018

If you live near Jacksonville, Florida, go get some BBQ from the Smoke in the City food truck. Here is video showing one of the owners, Jovette Williams, holding a burglar at gunpoint until police arrived:

The full story goes like this: the burglar, Isaac Palmer, had ripped off the Williams’ food truck twice. They estimate their losses were nearly $3,000, and then teamed up to catch Palmer in the act.

Watching the truck early Thursday morning, they saw that the lights, which they usually left on to illuminate the outside of the truck, had been turned off. When they approached, they found a man standing up against the door.

“My husband yells out, ‘Freeze. Get on the ground,'” Mrs. Williams said to reporters, “and I’m holding the gun and he stretches on out on the ground.”

Mrs. Williams had never pulled a gun on anyone before this incident.

“At the time, I was actually angry,” she said. “I was ready for it to be over with, ready for him to stop robbing me so I can fix my trailer and move on with my life.”

Police were impressed with the pair’s teamwork and performance, saying, “Good job! Do you want a job? Y’all did perfect.'”

The couple declined that offer in favor of doing what they love most: feeding people.

“We’re the type of people who, all you have to do is ask,” Mrs. Williams says in the video (at the bottom of this article). “We would’ve fed him every day. I mean, I would’ve asked you to do something – you know, wash the dishes, pick up trash – but we would’ve had no problem feeding him… I guess that’s really what angered me, is that you took advantage of us as a small business and being in this community, and that’s what really hurts me.”

Palmer’s selection of such kindhearted people as his victims may be the only reason he had the luxury of smiling in his mugshot “like the Cheshire cat,” as Mrs. Williams put it:

Here’s the news video with the full interview:

33 COMMENTS

Ed Schrade July 25, 2018 At 11:10

Crooks preying off working class people. Easier to steal than work. Lets see what the justice system does now. Mostly nothing.
- Kendahl July 25, 2018 At 11:48
  
  The a-holes even steal from charities.
  - CZJay July 25, 2018 At 12:18
    
    They usually have titles like chairman, CEO and president.
    - Toni July 25, 2018 At 14:56
      
      yep and after stealing from them for a few years get a massive severance package to go with what they have already stolen
- CZJay July 25, 2018 At 12:14
  
  They will give him free food and water, a clean bed, police protection, books, a gym, medical care, etc. The downside for him is he can’t victimize hard working people for awhile, he might have to fight for his life a few times and no females.
  
  I think there I saw some story about how older Japanese people do crimes because they want to hang out in jail with other people and get the benefits of the system.
Bloving July 25, 2018 At 11:29

Pretty sure I’m not having barbecue for dinner… crap. That sounded good, too…
🤠
- LarryinTX July 25, 2018 At 11:33
  
  Nah. They’re east coast, don’t know how to make BBQ, don’t even use cow.
  - Weapon Of War July 25, 2018 At 13:18
    
    Pretty sure pork is the real BBQ, cow is for the gourmet types, goes good with Starbucks coffee and stuff.
    - Iron Cat Beast July 25, 2018 At 13:50
      
      So long as it had a mother and wasn’t bipedal, it’ll have a place on my grill.
    - jwm July 25, 2018 At 14:17
      
      Chickens is bi pedal. So are quail. And ostriches.
    - Moltar July 25, 2018 At 14:22
      
      Long as it is dead enough to lay there while being smoked and non human it’ll have a place in my smoker and on my plate.
    - Toni July 25, 2018 At 14:59
      
      skippy is also bipedal and mmmmmm does skippy taste good 🙂 bit like beef but stronger taste
    - Drake_Burrwood July 27, 2018 At 09:05
      
      As long as it is’t Roof Rabbit or some kid named it i’m fine.
  - Paul McMichael July 25, 2018 At 20:39
    
    Larryin TX, check your history. Back in the days before the Land of the Big Mouse Florida raised almost as much beef as Texas. Long history of cowboying down here. After all, Texas Rangers had to come to Florida to arrest John Wesley Hardin.
DrDKW July 25, 2018 At 11:33

Well, maybe next time he’s caught, he won’t be smiling – or breathing.

DrDKW
Ralph July 25, 2018 At 11:55

Of course he’s smiling. He made $1500 an hour and won’t do any time for it.
Texican July 25, 2018 At 11:59

Great job! And in other news: the 6.5 Creedmoor lore continues to grow! The Gould brothers did some trap shooting with an AR chambered in the magical round at 300 yds! What can’t it do? 😉
- rob July 25, 2018 At 14:22
  
  True.
  If this perp had been held at gunpoint by a 6.5 CM, he would have been sentenced to 20 years hard labor in the Gulag by a Judge at the scene.
  The caliber also would have turned his smile upside-down in the picture.
  After release from prison, he would live a life much like Jean Val Jean.
  Thats the power of the 6.5 CM.
Jonathan-Houston July 25, 2018 At 12:38

So let me get this straight. They have a truck where nobody notices or thinks anything of there being activity at all hours of the night; a truck accustomed to working with raw meat, such that a little blood staining on the floor wouldn’t be all that unusual?

This thief ran into some kind hearted victims, indeed. A less charitable, more vengeful pair might have handled this differently.
- Ahil925 July 25, 2018 At 13:10
  
  Long pig tastes funny. They’d have to have changed their recipes and cook times. That’s a lot of bother.
  - Splic3r July 25, 2018 At 13:20
    
    Thanks, I laughed
    - rob July 25, 2018 At 14:23
      
      +1
  - Jonathan-Houston July 25, 2018 At 18:31
    
    Not with Frank’s Red Hot Sauce! I put that s!#÷ on everything!
little horn July 25, 2018 At 13:13

imagine that, blacks victimized by…another black.
- Ralph July 25, 2018 At 13:50
  
  It’s like Maxine Waters all over again.
Survivordude1090 July 25, 2018 At 15:46

I’m in the mood for brisket and corn on the cob now.
- Just Sayin July 25, 2018 At 17:04
  
  Mmmm
  Full slab of Baby Back , w/ slaw, beans and cornbread.
  Maybe some collards too.
  And ice cold brews. Lotsa them…
  
  Who’s buying?
- jwm July 25, 2018 At 19:02
  
  Corn on the cob is one of my favorite bbq foods. And I really like my beef but for a bbq I prefer some sausages.
dpk54 July 26, 2018 At 10:11

Kudos to these hard-working folks!!! This kind of thing angers me beyond description!! These people work for everything they have and are way more generous than I would ever be!! Cynicism comes naturally when dealing with thugs like this….instead of assaulting and stealing from others why doesn’t this loser get off his ass and do something constructive, like get a job?? I guess that would be way too hard for him…it’s easier to just sit around complaining about how disadvantaged he is, and steal from those who aren’t afraid of hard work. I have no sympathy for him in the least!! If he was truly hungry, why didn’t he offer to do something for these people in exchange for some food, instead of trying to rob them??? They would most probably have helped him, being the kind of people they obviously are…..I, on the other hand wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him…this is most probably NOT the first time he has done something like this……
Dyspeptic Gunsmith July 27, 2018 At 00:09

Well done.
Drake_Burrwood July 27, 2018 At 09:07

And that Ladies and Gentlemen, is how you get the FBI crime numbers down in “black” communities, arm the law abiding.
Gun Owning American July 28, 2018 At 23:26

Good for them.
Albina December 13, 2022 At 10:13

Breakfast is the main meal for me, I eat a lot in the morning to get a boost of energy for the whole day. But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in recent times more and more establishments are switching to the barcode restaurant menu, which is the case with covid and other restrictions.