Syndicated news show Inside Edition had come up with a plan.

The crew wanted to do a story on the rash of car break-ins in San Francisco.

So, they set up a “bait car” with a Michael Kors purse and a $250 speaker in plain view inside. Both items had been fitted with GPS tracking devices. As anticipated, the car was broken into by a woman and a man soon after they parked. The crime, they later noted after reviewing footage, took about 20 seconds.

The two allegedly fled to a bus before ending up at the 16th Street Mission BART station, where Inside Edition Chief Investigative Correspondent Lisa Guerrero approached the man. Speaker still in hand, the man then attempted to head into BART.

"Five million people are gonna see you steal that," Guerrero said on camera. "So you can choose to give it back or not."

After being further pressed, the man told Guerrero he was going to call his mother before putting the speaker down on the BART platform and walking away. Guerrero later traced the purse to a garbage can nearby on Mission Street.

But, while Guerrero and her crew were shooting the story, the Inside Edition's van was broken into.

"They stole thousands of dollars worth of equipment," she said, opening the SUV door to shattered glass. "We actually got hit twice in one day."

News crews across San Francisco have seen their gear stolen time and time again.

H/T SF Gate