Originally Posted by
gamecat
Then what? Try and get the police to investigate the ad? Actually go see the bike?
The people who took them may know what I look like, if they cased the place during the day, or pass by frequently. I'm in the garage working on them or doing other stuff regularly. I've been wondering if that might have been how I called attention to their presence.
And yes, it's pretty obvious the cops will do nothing. The form they fill out to take your report begins with these "case screening factors, " all checked on mine:
[x] Suspect/Vehicle Not Seen
[x] Prints/Evidence not present
[x] MO not distinct [Modus Operandi]
[x] Property loss less then $5,000
[x] No serious injury to victim
[x] Only one victim involved
My "case" is going nowhere, clearly. I'm one person and I wasn't assaulted or deprived of more than $5K worth of stuff (what? $1K is a lot of money to me.) I can't tell them how the criminals did it, and there's no physical evidence--because they haven't bothered to try and collect any.
It's not like the cops do much when you're actually assaulted, either. That happened to me a few years ago, in another state. It's the same all over.
Maybe I should have told the cop each bike was worth $1500. Or maybe that I am in fact two people.
I ebay'd a remarkably inexepensive Univega so at least I'll have something sensible to ride until I can try and sort out what I'm going to do.
I also live in the Los Angeles area. I live right down the street from a known thief that even steals bikes from time to time. So I have a really good idea of who my "wonderful" neighbors are. I don't want to tell others on how to live. But it seems that since you are the owner or rather a part of an estate's trust, you should be able to dictate what you can do in your living space. Where I live at present, I have remodeled my home into a rather secure "fortress" for the lack of a better word. Without lapsing into paranoia, perhaps you should look into hardening your place. I have not depended on the police for protection in many years and have not been disappointed yet.
Originally Posted by
gamecat
Interesting, Chinarider, thanks.
Other trivial updates:
--Ordered then suspended an order for an '09 7.3 fx (which I had thought was an '08) because--
--Cops left a message saying they had recovered a black Trek bike--
--Turns out it's not mine, but in the mean time--
--made contact with a seller in Sacramento with a lightly used '08 to unload. If he'll knock down his price by how much his LBS wants to pack, and they don't try to make me pay tax, we're good to go.
--realized the Fuji was an '03 not an '04. I didn't notice the stock photo I grabbed was off. I had originally dated it by its paint scheme and had flip flopped the years in my head. I had spent so little time on it during the winter, and was so mixed up by the whole event, I didn't notice the picture was wrong. So I need to revise that flyer and make the rounds again.
Originally Posted by
gamecat
Yeah, I locked it to the cargo tie downs and then covered it up with the stuff that usually lives in the back of the car......I'm not sure what to do about my newfound mistrust and suspicion of my neighbors, as everyone from the police to the people at the LBS think that some kind of inside job is most likely. That's a pretty uncomfortable feeling.
I am glad that you are not giving up on bikes. Just remember before you bring home another one, do harden up your target residence, or you will face the same problem again later. The bike shop & police might be right that it could well be an "inside job." I am glad that you are beginning to take even a little step in the right direction. As for your newly discovered "mistrust and suspicion of your neighbors, that is a sad development in this new world. Where I live, I only speak to one neighbor now. The rest can go back to wherever they came from since most are not native to the Los Angeles of about 25 or more years ago-the previous neighbors ran for the hills and suburbs as the new arrivals stream in-& are the direct cause of the crime and gang activity here. These people are nothing but trouble and do drive down the property's value-not to mention a constant headache.
Insurance is a nice middle class gesture, but in my experience it can be limiting
assuming if it does pay off. I rather keep a special bank account fund in the event of one of the bikes is lost or stolen. Then I don't have to file any claim or beg someone to get another bike.