A Turlock family may have gotten the last laugh on a thief who twice tried to still the catalytic converter from their vehicle.

On the thief’s second attempt, the family left him a note that read “Smile loser.”

The thief made his first attempt at stealing the catalytic converter from the Mascorro’s vehicle on July 6.

Sarah Mascorro said the video footage shows the thief crawl under her truck and work there for about a half hour before leaving. She said he came back and tried to get it off again, but left without taking it.

The following night the thief returned, but this time when he crawled under the truck, he found a note telling him his license plate number was on camera. It also told him to “Smile loser.”

The family called 911, but the thief got away.

The thief caused damage to the part in his attempt to take it, but Mascorro said the family caught a break when they took it to All Valley Smog on Lander Avenue. They were expecting a couple hundred dollars for the repair, but it only cost them $28, Mascorro said.

“It would have been so much more, but they were so sweet,” Mascorro said.