When Joe Francis' truck was stolen, he didn't get mad.

He just stole it back.

Francis was upset when the truck vanished from outside his work Monday -- he didn't have insurance to replace it.

Francis was on his way to Brookings, Oregon, to buy a new car Tuesday when he spotted the purloined truck headed the other way.

He swung around and followed.

"It was pretty lucky on my part and pretty stupid on his part for driving the truck around here," Francis said.

He trailed the truck until the driver parked at a home and went inside.

Francis, armed with a can of pepper spray, slipped into the truck and drove it away.

"I knew the key gets stuck in the ignition, so I figured it would be in there. That's probably why it got stolen in the first place," Francis said.

Francis quickly called the California Highway Patrol, and officers showed up to arrest a Folsom State Prison parolee.