Timothy Yost’s life has changed for the better after the City Council of Bastrop, TX, agreed to allow the homeless man to keep a bag of loot worth up to $77,000 that he found in a park last January.Well, that’s after Yost gets out of jail first.

Yost found a bag of 70 $100 bills and 40 kruggerand coins along the Colorado River in Fisherman’s Park. Kruggerand coins are collector coins from South Africa and they are one ounce of gold each, which according to estimates sells for approximately $1,600 a piece. According to police, the money was cashed out from a Wachovia Bank and kept in a plastic bag that appeared to be buried. When Yost found the bag, the money was wet, so he took it to a nearby bank to trade the wet money for dry money. Thinking Yost had committed a crime (which makes Yost quite an honest thief really), the teller at the bank called 911 and the police took custody of the money.

But Yost sought “finders, keepers” and hired an attorney to reclaim the treasure he uncovered. Texas law required police to ensure the money was not linked to a crime and after trying unsuccessfully to locate the bag’s owner within the allotted time frame, Bastrop police handed the money back to the city, which voted to give it back to Yost.

Although luck favored Yost, he may not be able to enjoy his newfound riches right away. Being a homeless man, Yost was recently locked up on public intoxication charges and criminal trespassing – usual homeless people offences. But once out, Yost says there’s one thing he wants to get first using the money. “I’ve been walking for so long, first thing I want is a vehicle,” Yost told Fox 7.

Watch his interview below.

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