14-year-old steals family car and goes on a joyride — so his parents give away all his stuff as punishment

A 14-year-old received a creative punishment from his parents after they discovered that he had taken out their Range Rover without permission and gone on a dangerous joyride.

"I just wanted to drive but I don't have a license so I just took it," Angel Martinez said.

"I can wash the car, and I was like I don't have anything to dry it, so I'm gonna take it for one spin until it dries," he explained.

That explanation didn't seem to cut it for his parents.

Ramon Martinez, the boy's father, told KSAZ-TV that he and his wife were vacationing in Las Vegas for their anniversary when they got a call from Phoenix police.

Angel had been speeding through their North Phoenix neighborhood and disrupting neighbors. When the parents got home they decided on a unique punishment.

"We got back to the house. Today, we took all his stuff out, his room is 100% empty, and we're just giving all his stuff away," Ramon said of his son.

His parents made him sit for hours on his belongings with a cardboard sign that read, "Sorry I stole my parents car and was speeding."

They gave away his clothing, his bed, and a television set to complete strangers who came by their home.

"Mostly to apologize to the neighbors too. He could've run someone over. Something really bad could've happened," dad Ramon explained.

"Hopefully, you know you do what's right, and you'll be able to tell later in the years," he added. "For now, you know we're just trying to do our best to keep him out of trouble and make sure he understands that things like this will not be tolerated."

The boy took it all in stride.

"It's kind of weird, but I think it's a fair punishment," he said.

Here's the local news report about the incident: