Act of kindness: California homeless man returns stolen cash, keys to rightful owner

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Two men from two different worlds were brought together by one act of kindness.

Richard Weisgal said it all began last Friday at a 24 Hour Fitness in downtown Walnut Creek. Weisgal had finished his workout and went to his locker and saw that someone had broken the lock.

"I open up the locker. My shorts had everything in them. My wallet, my keys, my iPhone, my shorts had disappeared," Weisgal recalled.

A few hours later, Frank Sierra, who's been homeless on and off for the past 10 years, was going through garbage cans in Pittsburg looking for recyclables when he made a discovery.

Sierra found a wallet sitting on top of one trash can. The money and credit cards were gone. He also found keys, a watch, and a driver's license, all of which turned out to belong to Weisgal.

"I knew that if it was my stuff, I would want somebody to bring it to me as quickly as possible. And that is just what I did," Sierra said.

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The very next day Sierra hopped on a BART train and headed to Walnut Creek. After he exited the station, he walked two miles to Weisgal's house.

"The sun was bad, and my knees are bad. I just made my way," Sierra recalled.

But when he got there no one was home. So he left a note on Weisgal's doorstep.

"I sure didn't want to leave it there for some other idiot to come by and steal it again," Sierra said.

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Weisgal said he had some reservations at first.

"It made me nervous. Made me feel they were connected to the people who ripped me off," he said.

So they arranged to meet in a public place where Sierra gave him his wallet and other items.

"I was just blown away. It really restored my faith in people. That there are people out there doing whatever it takes to make things right.," Weisgal said.

"You know how you would feel if it was your stuff. I just did what was right and what my conscience told me to do," Sierra said.