In this week’s episode of “acts of kindness” from a podcast that could be called “there are still good people out there,” actor William Shatner had a recent brush with the law of the good kind. The Star Trek actor who famously starred alongside the late Leonard Nimoy in the sci-fi series recently stopped by the Fruit Barn on Pacheco Pass Highway in Gilroy, California, to buy some fruit. The 91-year-old purchased four baskets of chilled cherries and $2 worth of corn and left, leaving his wallet behind. Fortunately, owner Gary Tognetti was taking a break, and his daughter and her friend were manning the stand, and as Shatner drove off, the girls noticed a wallet in a corn bin.
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When his daughter brought it to his attention the following day, Tognetti was taken by surprise once he discovered who it belonged to. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he told the Washington Post he recalled thinking. Still in disbelief, Tognetti contacted his friend, Officer Mark Tarasco, with the Gilroy Police Department to ask for help locating the star.
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Tognetti told KABC-TV:
Officer Tarasco added:
“I told him, ‘Hey, we found this wallet,’ and he wasn’t quite sure if I was telling a little joke.”
After a two-hour investigation, authorities were able to connect with Shatner’s agent and FedExed the wallet via overnight shipping to the actor’s home in Beverly Hills. In a show of appreciation, the Emmy winner shared a special message on Twitter:
“I told Gary, ‘Hey, let me help you out.’ I was on my way to work, met up with a few folks there to include Sgt. John Ballard who has some detective experience, and I asked him, ‘Hey, how do I get a hold of a celebrity?’”
However, the officers lacked experience in locating celebrities. According to Tarasco, “it was a race to try to figure out who was gonna contact Mr. Shatner first.”
Meanwhile, Tognetti is thinking of ways to bring in new customers, like hoisting up a sign that reads, “William Shatner was here.”
“I would like to thank Gary and Natalie of B&T Farms @TfarmsB for their extreme honesty in returning my lost wallet. They are obviously good citizens. I would also like to thank Officer Mark Tarasco and Sergeant John Ballard from the @GilroyPD. My best, Bill."
