Thieves, and the Tracking Thereof

1990C4S · 10-10-2023, 08:05 AM

A few months ago I placed about twenty-five very large curbstones behind my house. There are 8"x8"x24", not light, and not cheap. There was about $400 of material there.

My house backs onto a through street, and I was planning to build a curb between the garden I maintain and the city property. This is technically city property, but most of my neighbors maintain a garden that can be seen from the street. I laid all the bricks end to end and buried/levelled two of them into the soil. The plan was to get my transit out the next weekend and set up a string to work to.

During the week all the curbstones on the surface were stolen. They left the two stones I had buried but took everything else. I was a) shocked that someone would do this on a fairly busy street and b) super-pissed off that I had carted all these blocks and laid them out, only to have them disappear.

A week later, the two buried stones disappeared. I guess the thief needed a couple more to finish his/her project. Now I'm freakin' livid.

I bought two more blocks and buried an Airtag in one of them. Weeks go by, it gets cold out, and I say to my wife 'we missed our chance', no one is coming back to steal these. The next night (Saturday) they disappeared! I looked at my phone before bed and the block showed up as being a few streets away, I just ignored it because I've a had a few false updates that show the item is close, but not where it used to be. But Sunday AM I went to check, and they were gone.

I went straight to the new location, knocked on the door and told the kid (14-ish) who answered that it looked like something I owned was either in their backyard or their neighbor's back yard. The kid acted clueless, he opened the garage so I could look in, and then he let me in the back yard to look.

As soon as I walked into the yard, I saw a 250-gallon water tank sitting on top of my bricks. I told the kid those bricks are mine, they were stolen from me yesterday ad I want them back. He told me his uncle installed the tank the day before. I told him to expect the police to visit and charge the uncle with theft.

Two hours later the blocks show up at the back of the house.

Eventually the police came to see me and then they visited the thief's house. The kid took the blame for the theft, which is total BS. He's too weak to lift the blocks, he's too young to drive, and the whole irrigation set-up in the back yard wasn't done by a kid.

So, in the end the police warned him. They did ask me if I wanted to lay charges, but for two cement blocks, and a 'young offender' there was no point. The family denied any knowledge of the remaining blocks, and the cop said there were no additional blocks in the yard, which I believe is true, as I had a quick look when the kid let me in to look.

So, overall, not very satisfying. But the blocks are back, and trap has been set again...the AirTag is your friend.

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

Good for you!
I would have pressed the charges. It's not you ruining the kids life if he gets a record for it, it's on who ever took the blocks.
Glad you got your blocks back. Sorry to hear that it was 'neighbors' from the 'hood that took them. I guess it takes all kinds, don't it.

Rot 911 · 10-10-2023, 08:18 AM

Using that AirTag was a great idea!

911 Rod · 911 Rod's Garage

That is crazy!!
Almost as crazy as a friend had someone steal the freshly laid sod from his from lawn.

1990C4S · 10-10-2023, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Good for you!
I would have pressed the charges. It's not you ruining the kids life if he gets a record for it, it's on who ever took the blocks.
Glad you got your blocks back. Sorry to hear that it was 'neighbors' from the 'hood that took them. I guess it takes all kinds, don't it.

We have a 'young offender act', for a minor crime virtually nothing happens under 18 years old.

Additionally, it was pretty clear that if I pressed charges the wrong person would be charged. I think there is zero chance that the kid took the blocks. It was his uncle or his father. The kid's grandparents own the house, they were the ones that forced 'someone' to return the blocks.

The cop made it very clear the kid was scared to death, I think he learned a lesson.

I wish I had a camera back there, but I can't be bothered. I don't even know what to buy to monitor that area.

KFC911 · 10-10-2023, 09:16 AM

Get a cheap $40-50 trail/game cam ... set it up in 90 sec video mode.

Thieves suck

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

The kid may have learned his lesson, but did his father/uncle or whom ever took the blocks?

Alan A · 10-10-2023, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rot 911

Using that AirTag was a great idea!

Except if you have a iPhone it tells you about it.
So there’s that…

MBAtarga · 10-11-2023, 08:58 AM

How did you hide an airtag in a brick?

1990C4S · 10-11-2023, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

How did you hide an airtag in a brick?

I cut a slot by drilling a series of holes, then dropped the tag in and smothered gray caulking on top. With a bit of dirt on the surface it's not noticeable. Especially since they get stolen at night.

Zeke · 10-11-2023, 11:07 AM

I love it. However, around here stacking bricks near the curb means take them, they are free. I think the 2 that were buried amounts to theft. So the conclusion would be theft but it would be a tough call here had the 2 buried been left.

But 2 more and the case is closed. Absolutely theft. There is no reason to believe the original bricks were taken by the same person(s). Sounds like the uncle/father saw what had happened being close by and jumped on the bandwagon.

Did the uncle/father learn anything? Well we did, he is a dirtbag to let the kid cop to the theft.

varmint · 10-11-2023, 11:57 AM

Congratulations on living somewhere the cops get off their asses.

sc_rufctr · 10-11-2023, 12:13 PM

The OP's story has a very satisfying outcome. Mine not so much.

I had a friend... Until he decided to steal a rat trap from my back yard. He got caught red handed and then bald faced lied about it. This happened back in March and he's been trying to worm his way back into my life ever since.

The best part: He's a millionaire with cash in the bank. The rat trap cost me $18 brand new.

KFC911 · 10-11-2023, 12:24 PM

^^^^ Your rat trap worked ... you caught a bigly one!

masraum · 10-11-2023, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

The OP's story has a very satisfying outcome. Mine not so much.

I had a friend... Until he decided to steal a rat trap from my back yard. He got caught red handed and then bald faced lied about it. This happened back in March and he's been trying to worm his way back into my life ever since.

The best part: He's a millionaire with cash in the bank. The rat trap cost me $18 brand new.

It sounds like you learned something valuable which enabled you to throw out some trash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC911

^^^^ Your rat trap worked ... you caught a bigly one!

LMAO!

sc_rufctr · 10-11-2023, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum

It sounds like you learned something valuable which enabled you to throw out some trash.

LMAO!

That I did!

sc_rufctr · 10-11-2023, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC911

^^^^ Your rat trap worked ... you caught a bigly one!

Yep and two weeks ago I also owned his son (who has a "verified" criminal record) because of the "Rat Trap Theft" but that is a story that I can not share online.

Bill Douglas · 10-11-2023, 06:44 PM

Good skills

Jeff Higgins · 10-11-2023, 07:21 PM

Just a few years ago here in the greater Seattle area, we had a rather tech savvy young lady helping her parents with a stolen car. She had left her laptop, or her phone, or some other such electronic device in her parents' car. The car got stolen. She was able to invoke "find my computer (or phone)" and her parents were quickly able to find their car.

They called the police, telling them what had happened, and explaining they had their car, in sight, as they were speaking. The 911 operator told them to stand down, not to engage, and to break off contact. They refused, and continued to follow their stolen vehicle. This went on for over an hour, with no response from police. They stayed on the phone with the dispatcher, who kept telling them to leave.

Eventually, the perps noticed they were being followed, and confronted the owners. Things got ugly. People (not the perps) got hurt. The police never responded. I'm not sure the vehicle was ever recovered.

So, well, good for you that the police actually responded. Many do not enjoy that luxury. Oh - and this was years before Seattle voted to defund the police.

1990C4S · 10-12-2023, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeke

I love it. However, around here stacking bricks near the curb means take them, they are free. I think the 2 that were buried amounts to theft. So the conclusion would be theft but it would be a tough call here had the 2 buried been left.

But 2 more and the case is closed. Absolutely theft. There is no reason to believe the original bricks were taken by the same person(s). Sounds like the uncle/father saw what had happened being close by and jumped on the bandwagon.

Did the uncle/father learn anything? Well we did, he is a dirtbag to let the kid cop to the theft.

Just to be clear, nothing was stacked at the curb, the curb is at least 20 feet away, they were lined up end-to-end in front of the garden. There's 10 feet to the sidewalk, then another 10' to the road.

The uncle/father learned to look for AirTags before they steal something.