Clever minds needed for a theif stealing our grave flowers and re selling them at local flea market.

reply to post by Destinyone


so funny you say that, i was thinking about the dye today lol,,but I think about the kharma thing too,not only about with this situation but everything,everyday, so I want to be fair and uninvolved, but my folks arent as able as i am to do this deed. So its up to me to do it , or is it ? should I stay out of it and let nature deal with it? . ..Sometimes I just dont know what the right thing to do is. I make too much of a big deal out of my actions, or do I ?

How about digging a shallow grave deep enough for you to lie down in on the edge of the grave yard. Put some astroturf or leaves over the pile of dirt so it is hidden and use a Halloween prop grave stone.

Then go get your self some Knox gelatin(clear unflavored jello used in canning available at most grocery stores), strawberry or cherry jello(red being the key), some cotton balls, and a little light green face paint. Mix the Knox in hot water to dissolve it then pull apart and flatten the cotton balls and put them in the mixture. While they soak, randomly apply the face paint, but not to cover and blend well. Then put the cotton balls on your face at random places and allow to dry. They will become firm and curl and peel away in places. Apply a touch of face paint to the areas that stay attached and blend in. Mix your red jello and allow to cool to warm so you don't scald yourself and apply to the cotton that is pealing away to dull the white and give a blood color. This will not look real in the light unless you really spend some time working it but in the dark and a flash of a flashlight will look very real.

Decorate the grave site as much as you can afford with flowers, I suggest silk from a dollar general store if possible. Lay down and cover the "grave" with a grass or leaf covered "lid" and wait. When they arrive and attempt to take the flowers, arise from the grave and demand their heads.

Its as simple as that. I would venture to say they will never return.

Just some further details you might want to consider.

1. Even though the grave site may have been "purchased", is the plot of
ground your private property? Can you legally post a "No Trespassing" sign
on the grave?

2. You might want to put a tag on the flowers stating flowers are :
" Property of: (living person's name here)"


If graveyards are considered public property and you leave stuff there it may be considered abandonment.
Dunno ....



Anyway ,good luck.

reply to post by bastet11

Me too. Even better, they sell dies at auto stores that are added to engine oil to detect leaks. The dies are only visible under ultraviolet light. They are pretty cheap too. Put some of that on the flowers at night and the die will remain wet for hours.

reply to post by jazztrance

Wait for them to grab and don't say a word. Just follow at a discreet distance and call the cops. You can ask the police dispatch to keep you an "anonymous RP" or reporting party. That way the crooks don't get to eyeball you.

But you can still identify them and your property from behind headlights. Its an "expedient line up" on the scene.

reply to post by jazztrance


If your sure its them just pick them up and walk away with them. They wont say anything.

Originally posted by bastet11

Originally posted by Destinyone
See if you can locate some of the exploding dye packs used by banks in stacks of money. that dye doesn't just wash off. Red faced and and red handed....

Those people make me sick.....the Karma Bus will eventually find them.

Des

I like this idea!

I just did a little research on dye packs and they don't look like the solution to your problem. They have to be armed by a radio signal when the robber exits the bank otherwise they won't go off. It should be possible to make them manually armed but then the problem is how do you arm them when the flower thief strikes. I could come up with a solution to this but it would take a lot of time and knowledge of bomb building techniques. Then you would have to be careful you didn't trigger the dye pack yourself when you set it up.

But the real problem as I see it is the police themselves. If they don't see it as a high priority they will ignore it as long as they can no matter what you do. This is best illustrated by the following short story...

A man looks out his window and sees a couple of thieves stealing his tools and such from his backyard shed. He calls the police and is told they will get a squad car there as soon as they can but no one is available at the moment. He waits a minute and calls back saying that there is no hurry now since he shot them. Almost immediately the place is swarming with cops and the thieves are caught in the act but otherwise unharmed. One of the cops says to the homeowner "I thought you said you shot them" to which the homeowner replies "And I thought you said no one was available.

double barrel ...

shotgun full of rock salt ..

Or you could get a grim reaper costume, scare the crap out of them with your sharp bladed staff and hold them prisoner till the cops arrive.

Originally posted by intrptr
reply to post by jazztrance

 

Wait for them to grab and don't say a word. Just follow at a discreet distance and call the cops. You can ask the police dispatch to keep you an "anonymous RP" or reporting party. That way the crooks don't get to eyeball you.

But you can still identify them and your property from behind headlights. Its an "expedient line up" on the scene.

In the USA the law doesn't work that way.

If the police do not personally see the crime being committed. They must rely on the witness testimony to make an arrest. It's basically a citizens arrest. The witness must make a written statement and testify in court. The accused then has the right to confront the accuser face to face in a court of law.

If they are caught with the goods in hand they might plead guilty. But they cold deny the charges. In which case it is their word against yours. They probably will lose in court. But my point is that they will know who you are. Which could lead them to cause damage to the grave sites in an act of revenge. They might vandalize the headstone in some way.

I think you should talk to the people who manage the cemetery and ask for their opinion and find out what the law says. Ask them to help you identify the crooks and have them banned from the property. If they won't or can't help you then consider the other methods mentioned here.

This is considered a petty theft at best. But if you can catch them doing it multiple times it might increase the penalty and the ability to punish them more severely in court. I would try to get them on film more than once. Then you can show a pattern of them being repeat offenders. The actual value of the theft is greater and if you can get the property owners to fill out a no trespass / restraining order on them and they violate it. They might actually get more than a slap on the wrist when caught.

How about just confronting them. Tell them if they keep taking flowers from the cemetery, They might find you there instead of flowers.

Make sure they understand you know it was them.

They'll think twice. Especially since you confronted them once.

reply to post by randomname


Any dummy with enough balls to confront these thieves can threaten them with violence.

I assume the OP has already thought of that and decided against it. Becoming a vigilante over $20 - 50 worth of flowers doesn't sound like it's worth the risk involved. If he has to injure them he might be the one who ends up in jail or worse.

He's asked us to offer some more clever solutions. Use your brain man.

reply to post by jazztrance


Maybe you could get some "smart water"-dab that on your flowers,then buy them back with a cop present(or hiding nearby),hand the flowers to the cops,and get them to test for smart water.

Its good stuff,and the cops use it alot to get convictions.

smartwatercsi.com...

Maybe you should also film yourself putting the smart water on the flowers,with a time/date stamp-or a copy of the days newspaper,to show the cops when you marked the flowers.

My only other suggestions involve rat traps and/or flash bangs,but they may get you into trouble..
Good luck Buddy.

Figure out a way to rig a pepper spray canister to the flowers.

When they bend down and make the grab they get what they desirve.

About 15 years ago I lived next to a burned out building, a bunch of crack heads were crawling thru the second floor window via the fire escape to smoke up every night.

So I went over during the day and layed down a nice thick coat of axle grease on the window sill. After the next night they never came back. That stuff is nasty to wash off.

You could also tape a large rat trap to the flowers, Oh Snap!

reply to post by lunchmanstan


The problem with booby traps is that the cemetery staff usually cleans up dead flowers.

So an innocent person may be injured by any traps set.

Stick with the surveillance ideas. Use photo, video and eyewitness.

But like I said, even with proof, this is a petty crime and the police may decide not to pursue it.

The person who suggested going to the local news for help might be right.

Embarrassment and humiliation might be the best deterrent and punishment for these thieves.

Post their faces on the news and on youtube showing them in the act of stealing. Print some flyer's and post them near where they set up shop.

reply to post by jazztrance


Buy some flowers with thick stems and make a little nick in the stem then place inside the stem a piece of paper or the receipt for the flowers, place them on the grave and don't worry about them.
When they go missing take a look to see if your flowers have appeared on the stall, and try to locate the one with your evidence of ownership inside and then call the police.
Make sure you get pictures of the flowers in situ on the grave and preferably some video of you locating the evidence you left behind when you got o the stall.

Good luck, stealing flowers from a grave to sell to others is lower than a snakes balls.

Take all the grave flowers and mark them with an invisible marker. Walk over to the vendor at the market and shine a black light on the flowers. You'll see which ones are yours.

Here i have an easy solution.
Go to the market where they are selling the flowers and start talking as loudly as you can that these people are thieves and these flowers come from the graves of family members! Let everyone at that market know what these folks are doing. If they cant sell their stolen wares, they will have no reason to steal!

Public scrutiny is far stronger than people like to admit.

How about a spray which can only be detected with UV light? You could spray it all over your flowers and then walk up to them with the police in your back and test their hands.

But I loved your rattlesnake idea

You can buy online. any hunting site such as Cabela's www.cabelas.com... a product made from 100% pure skunk oil. Just search for skunk scent. Hunters use it to mask human scent while hunting. Spray it on the flowers after they've been placed on your loved ones graves. Who in their right mind would buy flowers from a flea market vender that smelled like skunks.

It won't physically harm anyone, just make them leave them alone. They can't sell smelly flowers. Plus it's pretty cheap to boot. Google skunk scent for hunters, to get the best prices.

Des