As a life long classic car enthusiast, I have seen and heard of many crimes like this one, and it has always been extremely frustrating when the perpetrators go unpunished, or nearly so, or even get away with it entirely. I have heard too many stories of police not getting involved when they should, and it is very disheartening to think that people can commit crimes like this and get away with it unscathed.
The reason that people so often get so up in arms with the idea of vigilante justice is because so often nothing is done about it. This simply needs to stop. If the law did their part and threw the book at these people when they get caught, as they should do, people likely wouldn't be quite so quick to take matters in to their own hands, because they know they would be able to count on their local law enforcement to handle it the way it should be handled.
This little thief knew full well what he was doing, not only when he stole this fellow's lip, but he knew many other times as well when he stole other things from people and ripped them off. He had every opportunity, every single time, to think about his actions, and he continued on with the crime anyway, and for this I have absolutely no sympathy. He can spend the rest of his life in prison for all I care, because people like this cannot be rehabilitated. They get out, they stay clean for a while, then they go right back to it.
I would like to see the authorities take action in this case and hold this thief accountable for not only this proven thievery, but for all of the other crimes he has committed as well.
Regards, from a member of the following car enthusiast forums: Gen[M]ay.com, OffTopic.com, craigslist.org, ClassicCar.com, LoveFords.org, TheLincolnForum.net, PerformanceYears.com, as well as other forums I can't remember now, multi-year eBay member and overall honest citizen who wants to see some justice.