14 DAY TRIAL // One of Tim Allen’s favorite cars, his 1996 Chevy Impala, went missing over Thanksgiving, only to be found many miles away, in Denver. A man claiming to be the actor’s son stole it and drove it there.
KDVR spoke to the thief, Faustino Ibarra by his real name, in Denver prison and he maintains that he did not steal the car, but rather took it as per his father’s indications.
He says he was let in the actor’s home in Los Angeles and instructed to take the valuable item and drive it to Denver, for a reason he does not detail.
“It’s a priceless vehicle,” Ibarra says, trying to prove he’s no fool to steal from such a high-profile celebrity.
“I’m trying to make it simple for you to understand. I didn’t break into [Allen’s] garage. He left the door open and he left me the keys so I could get the car and take it to Denver,” he says.
If you’re wondering why Allen would ever let someone inside his garage with his precious collection, let alone tell them to take one item out for a spin of a hundreds of miles, wonder no more: Ibarra says he’s Allen’s son.
“He’s my dad,” he says. Admittedly, Allen adopted him many years ago but, for some reason, never wanted it to go public.
“I emailed my dad the morning that I got the car in and everything is fine and I’ve got the car and it`s ready for you and we need to talk about me coming to live with you,” Ibarra says.
He understands how all this might sound “a little crazy” but, at the same time, he’s convinced he should be out of jail in almost no time because his “dad” would never press charges against him, especially for something he did under his orders.
“My dad loves the heck out of me. He’s ultra-proud of me and he wants to see the best for me in every way,” he says.
As it turns out, his “dad” isn’t really that fond of him: KDVR contacted Allen for comment on the incident and learned that he has every intention of pressing charges for the car theft and stalking.