Stole My Bike Back from the Thief
09-10-18, 09:10 PM
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OP: glad you got it back. I've had 4 bikes stolen in my lifetime and only recovered the fourth. Getting one back feels great, doesn't it?
DD
09-10-18, 11:02 PM
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My stolen Schwinn Continental that I overhauled Originally was baby blue but spent hours sanding and then painting it yellow
I actually found out he lives a couple of blocks from my house. Going to take a peak in his backyard to see if I spot my Schwinn. Most likely he sold it already but we'll see.
09-11-18, 07:50 AM
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What if the guy the OP found it with owned the bike previously, a thief stole it from him and sold it to the OP, then the previous owner saw the second thief with it and reclaimed it? I don't think it's likely, but that could lead to sitcom levels of misunderstanding between "rightful owners."
09-11-18, 08:06 AM
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Just saying "No" is not a valid argument for or against anything, it's just an annoyance.
09-11-18, 08:24 AM
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What if the guy the OP found it with owned the bike previously, a thief stole it from him and sold it to the OP, then the previous owner saw the second thief with it and reclaimed it? I don't think it's likely, but that could lead to sitcom levels of misunderstanding between "rightful owners."
09-11-18, 08:29 AM
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In that situation, in the interests of justice, I bet the cops would just keep it.
"Stolen Property" "Evidence", whatever excuse they can come up with that people will believe. And the police chief's son delinquent son would ultimately end up owning it.
"Stolen Property" "Evidence", whatever excuse they can come up with that people will believe. And the police chief's son delinquent son would ultimately end up owning it.
09-11-18, 08:52 AM
#33
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There is no recognized ownership to stolen property, even if you paid for it legally. It would just be your tough luck.
09-11-18, 09:34 AM
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"EVERY PERSON IS GUILTY OF ALL THE GOOD THEY DID NOT DO"
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"EVERY PERSON IS GUILTY OF ALL THE GOOD THEY DID NOT DO"
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Voice recognition may sometimes create odd spelling and grammatical errors
09-11-18, 09:47 AM
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I'm just glad the OP didn't have to injure the man to get his bike back.
That could complicate things. It would have to be done in private.
If I had empathy for the thief, maybe I'd hear him out and give him food.
Not money for liquor. Liquor is a luxury.
Because, in all likelihood, he's just going to steal another bike.
I don't buy the poverty argument.
I've been to some very poor areas of the world.
People with far less than a bike.
They have no tolerance for thieves.
I grew up poor.
Our bike often ended up in our neighbor's yard.
We just went over and got it back.
It changed hands dozens of times.
It was always awkward, and we avoided each other.
When we see each other now, years later, we nod.
We don't smile, and we buy our own beer.
We acknowledge the reality we had, and move on.
There is no animosity, but it's not like we're friends.
Sharing the lack of things is not a pleasant thing.
We focus on where we live, kids, stuff like that.
That could complicate things. It would have to be done in private.
If I had empathy for the thief, maybe I'd hear him out and give him food.
Not money for liquor. Liquor is a luxury.
Because, in all likelihood, he's just going to steal another bike.
I don't buy the poverty argument.
I've been to some very poor areas of the world.
People with far less than a bike.
They have no tolerance for thieves.
I grew up poor.
Our bike often ended up in our neighbor's yard.
We just went over and got it back.
It changed hands dozens of times.
It was always awkward, and we avoided each other.
When we see each other now, years later, we nod.
We don't smile, and we buy our own beer.
We acknowledge the reality we had, and move on.
There is no animosity, but it's not like we're friends.
Sharing the lack of things is not a pleasant thing.
We focus on where we live, kids, stuff like that.
Last edited by RobbieTunes; 09-11-18 at 09:54 AM.
09-11-18, 10:39 AM
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I'm just glad the OP didn't have to injure the man to get his bike back.
That could complicate things. It would have to be done in private.
If I had empathy for the thief, maybe I'd hear him out and give him food.
Not money for liquor. Liquor is a luxury.
Because, in all likelihood, he's just going to steal another bike.
I don't buy the poverty argument.
I've been to some very poor areas of the world.
People with far less than a bike.
They have no tolerance for thieves.
I grew up poor.
Our bike often ended up in our neighbor's yard.
We just went over and got it back.
It changed hands dozens of times.
It was always awkward, and we avoided each other.
When we see each other now, years later, we nod.
We don't smile, and we buy our own beer.
We acknowledge the reality we had, and move on.
There is no animosity, but it's not like we're friends.
Sharing the lack of things is not a pleasant thing.
We focus on where we live, kids, stuff like that.
That could complicate things. It would have to be done in private.
If I had empathy for the thief, maybe I'd hear him out and give him food.
Not money for liquor. Liquor is a luxury.
Because, in all likelihood, he's just going to steal another bike.
I don't buy the poverty argument.
I've been to some very poor areas of the world.
People with far less than a bike.
They have no tolerance for thieves.
I grew up poor.
Our bike often ended up in our neighbor's yard.
We just went over and got it back.
It changed hands dozens of times.
It was always awkward, and we avoided each other.
When we see each other now, years later, we nod.
We don't smile, and we buy our own beer.
We acknowledge the reality we had, and move on.
There is no animosity, but it's not like we're friends.
Sharing the lack of things is not a pleasant thing.
We focus on where we live, kids, stuff like that.
We suspected it was a pick up truck that was leaving as we got there and they just tossed it in the back. I don't think they were locals, probably hopped right back on the freeway. But how pathetic do you have to be to steal cheap bikes from young kids? I was the oldest at 14 years old, my brother 12, and youngest 6. We made use of the pegs and rode back home.
Also similar situation with the people I grew up around. We would get into fights daily with the Mexicans in our townhouse complex. They would always ruin the fun by bringing out a pitbull. But whenever I go back to Livermore and we see each other, we nod, sometimes even shake hands out of respect.
But back to this current thief, I wanted to avoid face to face with the thief because I didn't want him knowing I was the OP and wanted to avoid hitting an old man. For all he knows, someone simply stole the bike from him.
I do want to help him out, maybe even give him an old single speed. But if I find out he stole my yellow Schwinn as well then all empathy is gone.
Last edited by Mr_Asifi; 09-11-18 at 10:40 AM. Reason: Spelling
09-11-18, 12:00 PM
#37
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Maybe you don't mean it this way, but your post comes off as pretty racist.
Maybe you don't mean it this way, but your post comes off as pretty racist.
Last edited by belacqua; 09-11-18 at 12:19 PM.
09-11-18, 12:04 PM
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09-11-18, 12:04 PM
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I thought your post was fine, but you gotta love people who complain about a post, and then quote the entire post so you can't go back and change it.
Such is human nature, depressing as always.
Such is human nature, depressing as always.
09-11-18, 12:19 PM
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Thanks and I'm not too concerned. I guess it does sound like I'm stereotyping but a stereotype originates for a reason. You're lying to yourself if you feel just as safe riding in Oakland as you do in say Livermore or Pleasanton.
09-11-18, 01:39 PM
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To the OP, re: feeling bad for the old guy, or wondering if he’s really the one who stole it:
I’ll just say if I were him and came out of the store to find my legally (as far as I knew)-purchased bike stolen, I’d call the cops right there & then. I wouldn’t have just walked away. He knows what he did.
As to your later posts, well, the way you said stuff sounds like you think there’s a causal connection, that the reason that 1. Your childhood bikes weren’t usually stolen is because you were in a “nice mostly White town” or 2. That you got “into fights daily with the Mexicans” is because they were people apparently were/weren’t different from you.
Cause otherwise, why mention the difference?
That’s how we internalize the stereotypes you mention.
And to bring it back to he present situation, does it matter what race the old thief is? Nope.
You got yours back, no harm, no foul.
I’ll just say if I were him and came out of the store to find my legally (as far as I knew)-purchased bike stolen, I’d call the cops right there & then. I wouldn’t have just walked away. He knows what he did.
As to your later posts, well, the way you said stuff sounds like you think there’s a causal connection, that the reason that 1. Your childhood bikes weren’t usually stolen is because you were in a “nice mostly White town” or 2. That you got “into fights daily with the Mexicans” is because they were people apparently were/weren’t different from you.
Cause otherwise, why mention the difference?
That’s how we internalize the stereotypes you mention.
And to bring it back to he present situation, does it matter what race the old thief is? Nope.
You got yours back, no harm, no foul.
09-11-18, 02:01 PM
#43
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To the OP, re: feeling bad for the old guy, or wondering if he’s really the one who stole it:
I’ll just say if I were him and came out of the store to find my legally (as far as I knew)-purchased bike stolen, I’d call the cops right there & then. I wouldn’t have just walked away. He knows what he did.
As to your later posts, well, the way you said stuff sounds like you think there’s a causal connection, that the reason that 1. Your childhood bikes weren’t usually stolen is because you were in a “nice mostly White town” or 2. That you got “into fights daily with the Mexicans” is because they were people apparently were/weren’t different from you.
Cause otherwise, why mention the difference?
That’s how we internalize the stereotypes you mention.
And to bring it back to he present situation, does it matter what race the old thief is? Nope. You got yours back, no harm, no foul.
I’ll just say if I were him and came out of the store to find my legally (as far as I knew)-purchased bike stolen, I’d call the cops right there & then. I wouldn’t have just walked away. He knows what he did.
As to your later posts, well, the way you said stuff sounds like you think there’s a causal connection, that the reason that 1. Your childhood bikes weren’t usually stolen is because you were in a “nice mostly White town” or 2. That you got “into fights daily with the Mexicans” is because they were people apparently were/weren’t different from you.
Cause otherwise, why mention the difference?
That’s how we internalize the stereotypes you mention.
And to bring it back to he present situation, does it matter what race the old thief is? Nope.
You got yours back, no harm, no foul.And yeah I understand how my posts are coming off but don't want to turn this into those social media arguements about race. Truth is we did fight with the Mexicans because that's just the way it was. We didn't pick the fights on purpose or because they were different from us. Honestly they would start with the racist remarks relating to convenience stores, terrorism, taxis, etc. As an adult I react in a mature manner but kids will be kids.
I mentioned the difference because it makes for a real story, to me they're adjectives describing the person. People will put a put a face behind a story anyways so might as well give correct detail. To me it doesn't matter the race of this current thief. Age and situation mattered. But the police dispatch would not move on until I described the thief's ethnicity or race. Makes you wonder why that information was so important to them? Anyways, this is going away from a bicycle conversation.
Hopefully I can refresh this thread with updated pictures of the bike soon.
09-11-18, 02:03 PM
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He's wrong about the thing that he said and I quoted, of course. And you know this, because you are an alive human being from earth and are familiar with the idea of context.
It is a truly ridiculous notion that you need some sort of paper contract to "really" have bought something or to "really" own it. I've never before come across anyone with such a bizarre belief, not one layman, cop, paralegal, barrister, solicitor or judge who's ever even suggested such a thing. A receipt is merely one of many kinds of proof that something happened, it's not the happening of the something itself. Lord above, a bill of sale is for changing the registered keepers of cars.
It is a truly ridiculous notion that you need some sort of paper contract to "really" have bought something or to "really" own it. I've never before come across anyone with such a bizarre belief, not one layman, cop, paralegal, barrister, solicitor or judge who's ever even suggested such a thing. A receipt is merely one of many kinds of proof that something happened, it's not the happening of the something itself. Lord above, a bill of sale is for changing the registered keepers of cars.
Last edited by Cute Boy Horse; 09-11-18 at 02:08 PM.
09-11-18, 02:29 PM
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09-11-18, 02:42 PM
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How is this thread not already locked down or moved somewhere else? Mods must be out riding bikes.
09-11-18, 02:56 PM
#47
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Sad to say, stolen bicycles are low priority in the eyes of law enforcement.
I had a situation a few years ago where my garage door opener malfunctioned and opened my garage to anyone who walked by that alley. When I got home, a Trek mixte I had converted to a cargo bike had been taken. Filed a police report. Didn't even think of claiming it on my homeowner's insurance, which is saved for catastrophes, not minor claims. So I moved on and built up a different bike for cargo duty.
Fast forward to a couple years later. I'm getting something from my car near the alley, and I see my bike ride by. Know immediately it's mine because of the mods I made.
Go to the house, grab a bike and give chase because I think he's headed toward a bike trail where a car would be useless in pursuit. I put it into overdrive and catch up to him on the bike trail. I say: "Could you tell me where you got that bike? Because it's mine, it was stolen a couple years ago from my garage." He tells me a homeless person sold it to him. He's wearing a Papa John's uniform, so I surmise he's an employee at the PJ's less than two blocks from my home, right on the same alley he'd be taking to get to work. He says, come to the shop and let's work it out.
I don't believe him. He would have been walking my alley to get to work, chances are he saw an opportunity and took it. So instead, I go to the police with all this info, along with a picture, serial number and description of the mods I made, which were in the pic. They promise up and down to look into it.
Month goes by. I ask the police if any progress has been made. Apparently they had not interviewed him. Yep, you read that right. They only interviewed him after I put a bug in their ear. By that time, he had already ditched the bike, said he just gave it to someone else. Case closed, the police tell me.
Not a darn thing I could do except call the lieutenant and say: "I don't mind being low priority, but I do mind being no priority. I gave you all the info you needed, and you ignored it until it was too late."
Justice often wears a price tag of $500 or more, as I believe that is the threshold in most states between petty theft and felony theft. So if it's not a felony, the police don't bother. At least that's the way I understand it, it never came up in discussions with law enforcement in this case. Would it have made a difference if it were >$500? Probably not in terms of the way the police acted, or in this case, didn't.
I had a situation a few years ago where my garage door opener malfunctioned and opened my garage to anyone who walked by that alley. When I got home, a Trek mixte I had converted to a cargo bike had been taken. Filed a police report. Didn't even think of claiming it on my homeowner's insurance, which is saved for catastrophes, not minor claims. So I moved on and built up a different bike for cargo duty.
Fast forward to a couple years later. I'm getting something from my car near the alley, and I see my bike ride by. Know immediately it's mine because of the mods I made.
Go to the house, grab a bike and give chase because I think he's headed toward a bike trail where a car would be useless in pursuit. I put it into overdrive and catch up to him on the bike trail. I say: "Could you tell me where you got that bike? Because it's mine, it was stolen a couple years ago from my garage." He tells me a homeless person sold it to him. He's wearing a Papa John's uniform, so I surmise he's an employee at the PJ's less than two blocks from my home, right on the same alley he'd be taking to get to work. He says, come to the shop and let's work it out.
I don't believe him. He would have been walking my alley to get to work, chances are he saw an opportunity and took it. So instead, I go to the police with all this info, along with a picture, serial number and description of the mods I made, which were in the pic. They promise up and down to look into it.
Month goes by. I ask the police if any progress has been made. Apparently they had not interviewed him. Yep, you read that right. They only interviewed him after I put a bug in their ear. By that time, he had already ditched the bike, said he just gave it to someone else. Case closed, the police tell me.
Not a darn thing I could do except call the lieutenant and say: "I don't mind being low priority, but I do mind being no priority. I gave you all the info you needed, and you ignored it until it was too late."
Justice often wears a price tag of $500 or more, as I believe that is the threshold in most states between petty theft and felony theft. So if it's not a felony, the police don't bother. At least that's the way I understand it, it never came up in discussions with law enforcement in this case. Would it have made a difference if it were >$500? Probably not in terms of the way the police acted, or in this case, didn't.
Last edited by bargainguy; 09-11-18 at 03:09 PM.
09-11-18, 02:57 PM
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Painting a freshly stolen bike is something that used to happen daily where I used to work. But, in this case, it wasn't someone stealing bikes from their owners, it was that the factory was huge, and each department would have a bike to use to travel around the facility. It was normal for one department to steal a bike from another. To hide that fact, bikes would get painted. There must have been a dozen bikes with a dozen coats of paint on them, the last coat wet from the day's take. Why there wasn't just a pool of bikes for everyone to use always escaped me, but, hey, it was the 80s.
09-11-18, 04:50 PM
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I left a bicycle outside for five minutes in the back of my pal's pickup truck before returning to take it inside one evening. It was already gone. A couple of months later we happened to be driving around town together and saw an old dude riding my bike, in the exact same configuration I'd had it in except for a bit of yellow paint on the top tube where someone had obviously done a botched job cutting my lock off.
My friend wanted to get out and take the bike from him, but I immediately thought of the likelihood that he purchased it squarely from someone else, perhaps not even the original thief by that time... I let it go, and am still fine with that decision. If it had been some beautiful vintage bike that I paid hundreds of dollars for the story might have ended differently, but it was a $100 used mountain bike. C'est la vie!
-Gregory
My friend wanted to get out and take the bike from him, but I immediately thought of the likelihood that he purchased it squarely from someone else, perhaps not even the original thief by that time... I let it go, and am still fine with that decision. If it had been some beautiful vintage bike that I paid hundreds of dollars for the story might have ended differently, but it was a $100 used mountain bike. C'est la vie!
-Gregory
09-11-18, 06:17 PM
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Exactly the movie I had in mind; the whole dreamed-up scenario reminded me of it. Plot twists were so convoluted, only the viewer knew all that was going on (and from what I recall reading in the IMDB forums, a LOT of viewers still didn't figure it out...).
Here in WI it's a cool grand. So even if the police DO bother, the _perps_ don't much care. They're a lot less scared off by the threat of a misdemeanor charge than a felony charge.
This is also an area where bicycles do NOT have "parity" with motor vehicles. ANY auto theft is a felony. Steal a $350 non-running hoopty - felony. Steal a $999.87 (plus uncountable "sweat equity", if hand built / maintained) roadie - misdemeanor.
Sad to say, stolen bicycles are low priority in the eyes of law enforcement.
<snip>
Justice often wears a price tag of $500 or more, as I believe that is the threshold in most states between petty theft and felony theft. So if it's not a felony, the police don't bother.
<snip>
Justice often wears a price tag of $500 or more, as I believe that is the threshold in most states between petty theft and felony theft. So if it's not a felony, the police don't bother.
This is also an area where bicycles do NOT have "parity" with motor vehicles. ANY auto theft is a felony. Steal a $350 non-running hoopty - felony. Steal a $999.87 (plus uncountable "sweat equity", if hand built / maintained) roadie - misdemeanor.