These are my thoughts on being burgled this morning.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Be a victim if you like and hide away at home relying on police to protect you then. I fully support you making that choice.
You seem troubled, almost annoyed, that other people in other parts of the world take a stand?

I'll give you another example, there was a problem with alcoholics and heroin addicts congregating in my residential street a few years ago. The police weren't interested after other neighbours called them because there was no evidence of 'crime' and our street is not a street drinking control zone.
Myself and other male neighbours 'encouraged' them to leave to another street, perhaps a street like yours where people do not make a stand?
They never came back.

Kudos to the OP I say, takes guts, you may call it foolishness but hey, that's the beauty of the different folks who make up society.
Without communities of people who don't make a stand there would be nowhere for the people who do to send them.

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: TinySickTears

Be a victim if you like and hide away at home relying on police to protect you then. I fully support you making that choice.
You seem troubled, almost annoyed, that other people in other parts of the world take a stand?

.

first, i am annoyed with the entire world and everyone in it.
i dont see how me not wanting to chase an addict into a drug den means i would rather be a victim....

its not about that at all. i just dont feel like we need vigilante style justice. the legal system and the police definitely need to be revamped but in the mean time it does not make me comfortable when a bunch of cowboys take to the street to find perps themselves and dish out whatever justice they decide needs to be dished out.

do what you have to do and i will do the same. hopefully we never cross paths.

originally posted by: grainofsand

I'll give you another example, there was a problem with alcoholics and heroin addicts congregating in my residential street a few years ago. .

ok. here is my example.
i dont live in an area or a neighborhood where addicts hang out on my residential street.
problem solved before problem started.

points made on both sides. fair enough.
see ya

a reply to: Bobaganoosh


That is awful. All locks need to be changed now. Contact the dealership also. How do you feel about German Shepards?

Things like that happen at late night, open house parties where there is a lot of drinking going on. I understand that everyone there but one guy was trustworthy, but stuff happens. I'm not trying to be insulting here, but you left yourself wide open and vulnerable, esp. when some guy you don't know shows up looking for a meth buy. It's like leaving a purse or wallet on a table at a bar while you're out on the dance floor. Basically you asked for it by not having your valuables put away during the party, except the grill of course.

Now that the damage was done it seems plain that the thieves were preparing to go back for more by stealing keys. You now need to make security a priority and have to keep an eye on the perps. Let everyone know who was responsible so they can watch these scum bags too. A big step is not making yourself an easy target in the future. If I were you, I would do a careful inventory and catalog your valuables for insurance purposes. List items and serial numbers, take pictures of all your valuables and save the file somewhere it won't get stolen. If you have guns, keep them safely hidden as well.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
i dont live in an area or a neighborhood where addicts hang out on my residential street.

Neither do I after my community made a stand where the police failed.
Problem solved

Maybe you have a police service which is well staffed and resourced, which actually investigates burglaries where nobody has been injured? Lucky you, I don't. It is the strong community prepared to make a stand which keeps us safe, not the police.
Even our cops turn a blind eye when communities solve 'problems' by themselves, even grateful at times.

Different communities, different situations. It is difficult to pass judgement on particular courses of action if your society is different to mine.
We have very few cops, they only carry batons, they rely on communities self-policing. You can't really have a problem with that if you don't live in the same circumstances...unless you just want to argue and be all self-righteous?

originally posted by: grainofsand
.unless you just want to argue and be all self-righteous?

what i wanted for it was to be dropped.
see i said points made on both sides already. then i said fair enough.

so whats the problem?
did i #ing keep going on and on?
i don care enough about this to argue all day. just wanted to pop in and join the convo for a sec.

a reply to: TinySickTears

That's cool
I respect your choice to cede responsibility for your protection to police and other agencies, while I also respect the OP for taking a personal stand.
As I said in our initial discussions, different situations, different choices appropriate to the individuals involved.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

If the cops can't get em. I'm sure there are other agencies that can make them uncomfortable: IRS, welfare fraud reporting 800#, I wonder if the utilities are in their names. I find that criminals tend to commit fraud with many!

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Friend,
I understand your anger, it is justifiable.
But please do not go seeking revenge..
I can almost guarantee with the amount of documentation U have accumulated (doing the investigation yourself,and involving two different police departments) that if anything were to happen to this man or his family or property,

YOU WILL BE CHARGED!

Change the locks on your home, and write off the barbecue ..

I know this isn't the advice your looking for but I don't want to see you get in legal troubles...

Perhaps also get a security camera and point it at your wifes vehicle..

Good luck friend.

Respectfully,
~meathead

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Still, relying on the "justice" of this day and age leaves me just a bit antsy.

I know. So rare to get actual resolution to crimes, "getting stuff back" even rarer. Police catching culprits...

priceless.

originally posted by: Bobaganoosh
a reply to: projectvxn

Whatever revenge I take will be a benign nuisance type of revenge. Nothing dangerous.

That's exactly what I was thinking!

Sometimes this is much more effective than violence and physical harm.

Thanks for all of the replies folks. I have to go do the written statements today.

Lessons learned all the way around.

I'll certainly be changing locks and whatnot, don't really know what to do about the car. We have been looking to get another one anyway.

I'll shoot an update if they ever find the rest of my stuff.

originally posted by: Bobaganoosh
Thanks for all of the replies folks. I have to go do the written statements today.

Lessons learned all the way around.

I'll certainly be changing locks and whatnot, don't really know what to do about the car. We have been looking to get another one anyway.

I'll shoot an update if they ever find the rest of my stuff.

A car locksmith can re-key your car locks for ya, medium pricy, but your car insurance may help with that as you obviously have a police report to give them.

a reply to: Caver78

Good to know, it is one of those strange and expensive Honda keys. I assumed I'd be looking at a grand and a half minimum to have all of the locks done. There are a total of 5 locks, and the ignition. If I'm going to spend that much, might as well be a down payment.

I have a niece that would appreciate an old beat up honda. She will have her license next year. She lives 400 miles from here, so no chance of the missing keys finding their way down there.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

I don't get it.

You had a house party of people all known to you...till 5am?

When did the burglars get in?

HOW did they get in?

a reply to: CJCrawley

They didn't get in. They got in my wife's car, and stole the grill off my porch. I suspect it occurred around dawn. I don't know how they got the car keys. If they got them from inside the house, they didn't have to go far. They hang on a key ring next to the front door.

Mistakes were made on our part, but this is still a first after living at this address for the last ten years.

As I said, lessons learned.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Still, it's a bold burglar who would break into someone's car while there's a houseful of people...

I would suspect one of the party-goers.

Little tip: my car keys live in my trouser pocket.

a reply to: CJCrawley

It wasn't one of the party goers. My parties are low key. We had four couples over. Far from a house party.

And if you're wandering why "normal" people are up drinking till five in the morning, most of us are rotating shift workers with no circadian rhythm. We aren't meth-heads or rocket honkers. Just drinkers.

I've got the perp red handed. The police told me that the neighbors will be arrested Monday. All they can get them on at the moment is possession of stolen property. The value of just the two phones totaled over a thousand bucks, so that was enough to get the ball rolling.

My hope is that the wife rolls on the husband. He's a sorry a$$. I did some investigating into him on my own, and it turns out they were evicted from their last rental because he ripped off his neighbor there as well.

They were not at my house for the festivities, I've never actually spoken to them prior to grilling his wife yesterday.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Good job on the investigation. On the bright side, at least you got to have a movie-like adventure!