Alleged thief returns stolen items to Stephon Clark foundation, family says. ‘I almost cried’

A burglary this week and a smashed window at a foundation honoring Stephon Clark, who was shot and killed by Sacramento police, left Stevante Clark feeling defeated.

Stevante Clark wondered if he should shut down the I Am SAC Foundation, honoring his brother shot and killed in their grandmother’s backyard after police mistook his cell phone for a gun in March 2018. The shooting sparked widespread protests and a nationwide police brutality reform movement all anchored at Stephon’s House run by Stevante Clark and his family.

But Clark walked to Stephon’s House, 5940 Rosebud Lane in Carmichael, on Friday and his spirits lifted. The alleged thief left behind all the stolen items — worth about $4,000 to $5,000 — in a black trash bag outside the foundation with an apology note, Clark said.

“I damn near cried,” Clark said in a phone interview. “I don’t cry — and I almost cried.”

The alleged thief wrote in a note the stolen video game controllers are returned without being used or broken.

“I want to give My deepest apologies to the Clark family as I let my greed take over knowing that it was not ok I have returned every thing that I have taken & will receive any consequence it come with,” the letter, provided by Clark, read in part.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office was called on Wednesday to investigate the burglary, an agency spokesman said previously. Clark said Friday he called the Sheriff’s Office to cancel the police report.

Clark said he knows what it’s like to be poor and without resources — the note shows the alleged thief has faced accountability, he said.

“I want to slap him in the head, but hug him right after,” he said.

A birthday celebration at Stephon’s House, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at the foundation, will continue, Clark said, ecstatic that all the items were returned just one day before the event. Stephon Clark would have turned 29 on Saturday.

But the return of the stolen items meant more than just a return of the foundation’s belongings. It showed him the power of this community and the foundation’s work, Clark said.

“I am in disbelief still,” Clark said.

The foundation is raising money to fix the smashed window and implement security measures. More information can be found at the foundation’s website: www.theiamsacfoundation.org