I was robbed, theives caught (need advice)

[sewell94]

My shop was robbed about 2 months ago. I caught who it was, they were trying to sell the stuff online. Turns out it was a friends little brother(17RS OLD), but under my friends(20 YRS OLD) sn etc etc. My friend was arrested and afterwards he and his little brother came over and the little brother told me it was him etc etc. Most of the stuff was sold. This is where i'm at there dad is going to pay me for the stuff and for my help in not making the kids rot. i want to see justice done but i could really use the money for the stuff that was stolen. I don't want to mess with restituion at 100 bucks a month for a few years. Here was the stuff that was stolen and its value,

Jdm h22 engine 1500
turbo manifold 450
turbo manifold 250
intercooler piping 200
engine computer 150
alum radiator 125
downpipe 125
srt4 intercooler 150
hks blow off-valve 200
front control arms 50

plus they broke my door which is gonna cost 300-400 bucks to have replaced plus i figured i missed 3-4 days of work due to this hassle. I know i should make the 2 kids rot but i really don't want that on my consesious even there is no fault of my own,
How much do i tell the DAD i want???? thanks for the help u guys

[motion]

Do the kids a favor and have the cops brought in. They need to be locked up. AND, demand restitution from the father. Don't be a sellout.

[Don Plumley]

Ditto what Richard said.

Any "deal" you make them prevents a lesson from being learned. IF they were 11 and 13, I'd consider making them work at the shop all summer long for no wages, but at those ages they need a reality check. Any money you don't make on restitution will help prevent them from screwing someother member of our society. Pay it forward.

Edit: (The minor will need to have his father pay the restitution anyway)

Edit: And I'm sure one of our lawyers can answer this - you now know of a crime that was committed. I believe you are obligated to report a crime?

[elwood-914]

Originally posted by motion
Do the kids a favor and have the cops brought in. They need to be locked up. AND, demand restitution from the father. Don't be a sellout.

I agree. Could be a pattern, who knows but letting them off, I don't agree with. They will do it again, to someone else, then what.

[rcecale]

Were it my decision, I would make the kid(s) pay. I'm not talking restitution, either. A little bit of jail time just might be the thing to make them not want to do it again.

Look, these kids didn't have an attack of conscience and turn themselves in. YOU did the work and busted them. Now, all of a sudden, they're sorry? The only thing they're sorry about is the fact that they were busted...period!

Randy

[jorian]

Cost of parts stolen and door hardware at a minimum. Estimate of your opportunity cost lost due to the hassle and give him a bill for that. Leave it up to him to pay that. If he doesn't pay that portion you write it off as a non-recoverable debt.

[sewell94]

The breakin was reported the morning i found it. As soon as i found the ads for the stuff i printed in and took it to the det that assigned to the case. funny thig was the pics of the stuff that was sold were in the older brothers room. I also contacted 2 of the people at bought some of the stuff, so there is def no way that anyone else did it. The older brother had a warrant placed and was arrested today, hes out on bond. The younger brother is supposed to speak to the det. on the case tmw. He admitted the crime to me, and then to a bunch of other people. So he might be arrested tmw.

[Jeff Higgins]

You must realize you are probably not their only victim. As harsh at it sounds, this kind of thing needs to be nipped in the bud. Call the cops. It may make it easier for anyone else that has had to, or will have to deal with them. There may be pending investigations with the same M.O. When these kids enter the system, and provide prints and what not, they may very well match up with several more cases. Tough break for them, but it may help another honest citizen recoup some losses as well.

[Flatbutt1]

Community service at the very least on top of restitution.

What punishment would you demand if you didn't know the family?

[jorian]

I also agree that the cops should be involved.

[pwd72s]

right now, I'd say the only thing these two are sorry about is that they were caught...

[slakjaw]

ok fine,

I guess I will be the only one here to say do not call the cops.

will the kids father teach them a lesson? if so, I say leave the law out of it.

[bigchillcar]

tough call..i'd have to know more about the kids' histories..whether they've done this sort of thing before, no obvious remorse..or if it was an 'aberration'. i wouldn't be inclined to say what you should do not knowing more. clearly, i'm with some who have chimed in that there's a time for the law and times where it may not be necessary. i hate this kind of stuff..kids need to learn the meaning of consequences, but bad things can happen behind bars that can scar an otherwise not so rotten apple. maybe tell us more.
ryan

[DavidI]

I think the cops are already involved if he was talking to a detective. THe goal is most likely to correct the behavior of the thieves and recover some form of compensation. There are a lot of options that the detective can work out with the juvenile court and the District Attorney as forms of punishment. There may be communtiy service in a variety of forms. It is not all about putting them in a jail cell and letting them rot. I am an optimist in that I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, unless the severity of the crime prevents it (violence).

Good luck, David

[sewell94]

The cops have already been involved. The case has been sent to the State Attorney. From what the detective has told me they (states attorneys office) will have me come in for an informal meeting, and since i'm the victim they will see what u want and how far it persued. Thats where i'm at for now, if its pushed there are about 10 different charges, most which of are felonys. The father is an old school italian so i would guess the father would teach them a lesson, the father isn't rich but does very very well for himself, does alot of charity etc etc. I was over the break-in and had moved on, thinking it was someone else etc etc. At this point i just want my money and to move on, i really don't wanna mess with court going to all the hearings etc etc.

[sewell94]

The older brother has a clean record with nothing more than driving tickets. He was to graduate from the fire academy this thursday. The det. was kinda suprised when he pulled up his record and seen that it was clean. The younger brother brother has been in trouble for stupid stuff like fighting and got a treaspassing ticket during the hurricanes 2 years ago for driving past a roadblock to get to his house. I am also an optimist, and i don't like the idea sending someone to jail for alongtime for something really stupid even though B&E is pretty big. The thing that gets me is that the older brother was one of those people i could call in he middle of he night if my car had broken down and needed someone with a trailor to come and get me, if u know what i mean. That and how do i know that maybe 10 yrs from now he pulls some little girl from a fire.

[bigchillcar]

tough call...what motivated the older brother to take such a ridiculous chance? what disprespect he showed by stealing from a friend. damn. if nothing else, they've certainly lost your respect and trust..and a man's trust is not something that should be taken lightly..
ryan

[sewell94]

Older brother supposedly didn't break in, younger one did it. when the older brother found out cops had already been called and said he couldn't narc out his little brother, which is sorta plausible. i do know that if my little sister had stolen anything i would have dragged there asses to where they stole from made ,them return the stuff and made sure the person knew that it was gonna get taken care of.

[bigchillcar]

have the brothers spoken with you? or are they hiding in shame? any remorse if they have seen you?
ryan

[sewell94]

Yes, they called me right after the older one first was spoken to by he Det. They came over and laid eveything out on the table right after that.