I found my son's STOLEN bike!
#1
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I found my son's STOLEN bike!
I found it for sale online... and its trashed. I'm going to file a police report today. I know ill get it back but its completely rusted. How do i go about having them pay for a new bike or repairs? Do i have to take them to court for the damages? This is all new to me.
The bike is a BMX worth almost 600 with all the after market parts i have on it. I kept all my receipts and paperwork with the frames serial number. I wont have a problem proving its mine. The dumb***es have it posted for $150. It pisses me off seeing it in such poor condition.
Anyone an expert on these things? I live in california... is there certain law for something like this?
Ill post photos when i know when the police do their thing.... hopefully
The bike is a BMX worth almost 600 with all the after market parts i have on it. I kept all my receipts and paperwork with the frames serial number. I wont have a problem proving its mine. The dumb***es have it posted for $150. It pisses me off seeing it in such poor condition.
Anyone an expert on these things? I live in california... is there certain law for something like this?
Ill post photos when i know when the police do their thing.... hopefully
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I found it for sale online... and its trashed. I'm going to file a police report today. I know ill get it back but its completely rusted. How do i go about having them pay for a new bike or repairs? Do i have to take them to court for the damages? This is all new to me.
The bike is a BMX worth almost 600 with all the after market parts i have on it. I kept all my receipts and paperwork with the frames serial number. I wont have a problem proving its mine. The dumb***es have it posted for $150. It pisses me off seeing it in such poor condition.
Anyone an expert on these things? I live in california... is there certain law for something like this?
Ill post photos when i know when the police do their thing.... hopefully
The bike is a BMX worth almost 600 with all the after market parts i have on it. I kept all my receipts and paperwork with the frames serial number. I wont have a problem proving its mine. The dumb***es have it posted for $150. It pisses me off seeing it in such poor condition.
Anyone an expert on these things? I live in california... is there certain law for something like this?
Ill post photos when i know when the police do their thing.... hopefully
#3
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Contact the police and district attorney. I wouldn't be too hopeful about anything other than getting your property back. The seller will claim they bought the bike from someone else, and had nothing to do with the theft or degradation. You would probably have to resolve that with civil litigation, which is not practical for something that can be replaced for $600.
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It may well be difficult to prove that the current holders of the bike are responsible for the theft. The thief may have sold it to them or even abandoned it somewhere and it was later found and put up for sale.
The case would be much stronger if you can get the police interested in investigating and there are additional stolen bikes in their possession.
The case would be much stronger if you can get the police interested in investigating and there are additional stolen bikes in their possession.
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When did you report it stolen?
I've bought quite a bit of used bike stuff, and frequently try to look at stolen bike registries if something seems off.
I haven't found a stolen bike yet. However, I would be very upset if a person waits to report until after one tries to resell.
Nonetheless, go with what the police say If they prosecute a criminal case and win, you could follow up with civil.
I've bought quite a bit of used bike stuff, and frequently try to look at stolen bike registries if something seems off.
I haven't found a stolen bike yet. However, I would be very upset if a person waits to report until after one tries to resell.
Nonetheless, go with what the police say If they prosecute a criminal case and win, you could follow up with civil.
#6
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I found it for sale online... and its trashed. I'm going to file a police report today. I know ill get it back but its completely rusted. How do i go about having them pay for a new bike or repairs? Do i have to take them to court for the damages? This is all new to me.
The bike is a BMX worth almost 600 with all the after market parts i have on it. I kept all my receipts and paperwork with the frames serial number. I wont have a problem proving its mine. The dumb***es have it posted for $150. It pisses me off seeing it in such poor condition.
Anyone an expert on these things? I live in california... is there certain law for something like this?
Ill post photos when i know when the police do their thing.... hopefully
The bike is a BMX worth almost 600 with all the after market parts i have on it. I kept all my receipts and paperwork with the frames serial number. I wont have a problem proving its mine. The dumb***es have it posted for $150. It pisses me off seeing it in such poor condition.
Anyone an expert on these things? I live in california... is there certain law for something like this?
Ill post photos when i know when the police do their thing.... hopefully
Otherwise, at best you have a small claims court case, and even if you get a judgment, collecting it won't be worth the trouble.
How long was it gone? Bikes usually take a little while to get rusted.
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I would use the power of social media to bring justice. I would do my work detective work, in case the cops drop the ball. You might be able to find out the seller's name and address. Maybe pretend like you're interested in buying to get the seller to tell you about it and his name and address. Don't accuse him. Use social engineering skillz to your advantage. Use Facebook to investigate too. Perhaps, the thieve took pictures of the bike right after he stole it from you and posted it on FB. Maybe you get lucky, and find evidence of beyond reasonable doubt to show the seller is the bandit. Or maybe you'll find the guy did legitimately buy it from someone else. My gut feeling tells me the theive probably is not dumb enough to try to sell it online himself.
I have to wonder, if it was rusty, isn't there a pretty good possibility it was left out in the open abandoned by the thief? This person may have just found the bike dumped somewhere.
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How long ago was it stolen? Did you file an insurance claim for it at the time?
As others have said, I'd contact the police and let them pursue it. If you have a right to the bike, they should tell you that. While you may have a good civil case, the cost to pursue it would far outweigh the value of the bike even if you can collect, which is iffy.
As others have said, I'd contact the police and let them pursue it. If you have a right to the bike, they should tell you that. While you may have a good civil case, the cost to pursue it would far outweigh the value of the bike even if you can collect, which is iffy.
#9
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I'd file a small claims suit just for the satisfaction of having dragged them into court for the day.
They probably don't have $600 to give you but just to look at them, make them stand around the court building all morning and have to walk in front of the judge would be a bit of satisfaction.
-Tim-
They probably don't have $600 to give you but just to look at them, make them stand around the court building all morning and have to walk in front of the judge would be a bit of satisfaction.
-Tim-
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Call the cops, let them know you found it. Let them deal with it.
That, or they don't bother to show, and you get a default judgement in your favor for whatever you were seeking that you can choose (or not) to enforce upon them. Win-win either way.
I'd file a small claims suit just for the satisfaction of having dragged them into court for the day.
They probably don't have $600 to give you but just to look at them, make them stand around the court building all morning and have to walk in front of the judge would be a bit of satisfaction.
They probably don't have $600 to give you but just to look at them, make them stand around the court building all morning and have to walk in front of the judge would be a bit of satisfaction.
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I had gone through this somewhat myself. My son's Bike was stolen and a month later recovered. I had already recouped the cost via renters insurance. I'm fairly certain I know who took the bike since about 6 months later I found other teenagers whom looked ticked off at life tossing a bike away.
My opinion, you would put too much of your time and effort into something that has very little prospect of gaining you anything by going after others on a $600 stolen bike. It may cost you more in court fees and such only to not gain much if anything at all.
On the other hand, it would be nice to get even...........sigh...........
My opinion, you would put too much of your time and effort into something that has very little prospect of gaining you anything by going after others on a $600 stolen bike. It may cost you more in court fees and such only to not gain much if anything at all.
On the other hand, it would be nice to get even...........sigh...........
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As far as the criminal portion, I would suspect a filed report (unclear from the info given) and proof of ownership (OP has) would be enough to weigh against possession, but I would be intrigued to see how it all plays out.
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Since you have the serial number the police should recover your son's bike. That's great to get it back. Most people do not. Let this be a warning to everyone when you buy a bike record the serial number. Without it you are out of luck with the police .
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Yes, I keep one copy of the serial numbers as 'Contact' numbers on my phone. That way it'd be available even if the bike is stolen while I'm away from home.
#15
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Bicycle thieves are the scum of the earth.
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
1990s Raleigh M20 MTB--2007 Windsor Hour (track)
1988 Ducati 750 F1
Last edited by Trsnrtr; 12-12-18 at 07:31 AM. Reason: dangerous advice deleted.
#18
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Bike thief, fence, purchaser of stolen bike (and they know they are buying a stolen bike), all scum.
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
1990s Raleigh M20 MTB--2007 Windsor Hour (track)
1988 Ducati 750 F1
#19
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Do this. Do NOT try to John Wayne this and show up ready to pound the "thief". Be aware that sometimes people steal stuff to feed an addiction or because they are otherwise desperate. I'm 6'2", weigh 240, and played defensive end in the Big 10, and I would not show up without police backup. (Although when I was 30 years younger, I might have. I was a lot dumber then).
Was the bike insured? Did you get a payoff? Let the insurance company know. Let them handle it.
Was the bike insured? Did you get a payoff? Let the insurance company know. Let them handle it.
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Contact the police and district attorney. I wouldn't be too hopeful about anything other than getting your property back. The seller will claim they bought the bike from someone else, and had nothing to do with the theft or degradation. You would probably have to resolve that with civil litigation, which is not practical for something that can be replaced for $600.
But even if the DA prosecutes misdemeanors good luck getting the police interested. In California a police officer cannot make an arrest, on a misdemeanor case, without an arrest warrant unless the officer has probable cause to believe that a crime was actually committed in his presence.
In this case the officer did not see the seller steal the son’s bike. Maybe he “could” be prosecuted for selling stolen good. But then you need to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the seller knew, or should have known, that the bike was stolen. Not very likely.
I am afraid that there is not much legal recourse against the seller. The Dad could try suing in small claims court, but even with the reduced standard of proof in civil cases, it will be tough to prove that the seller had knowledge that the bike was stolen.
Sorry to say, the prospect is not good.
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After you've filed your stolen bike report, the best bet is to arrange with the seller to meet up, and arrange with the police to be there with you. Show the police the record of your serial number, and both you and the police can verify that it's your bike. The police can then simply inform the seller that you're recovering your stolen bike. You take the bike home. End of story.
I've found that the police are more than happy to show up to assist in resolving disputes, than they are in doing the work themselves to recover stolen property. This way, there's no need to involve district attorneys, or go through the legal system process. It saves everyone a bunch of trouble.
I've found that the police are more than happy to show up to assist in resolving disputes, than they are in doing the work themselves to recover stolen property. This way, there's no need to involve district attorneys, or go through the legal system process. It saves everyone a bunch of trouble.
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I'd file a small claims suit just for the satisfaction of having dragged them into court for the day.
They probably don't have $600 to give you but just to look at them, make them stand around the court building all morning and have to walk in front of the judge would be a bit of satisfaction.
-Tim-
They probably don't have $600 to give you but just to look at them, make them stand around the court building all morning and have to walk in front of the judge would be a bit of satisfaction.
-Tim-
#23
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Great advice if your goal is to go to prison.
Given how rusty this bike was, I think it's pretty likely someone just found this bike after the thief abandoned it. Sounds like it was left out in the weather for a while.
He should give the police the serial number and a copy of the ad.
Given how rusty this bike was, I think it's pretty likely someone just found this bike after the thief abandoned it. Sounds like it was left out in the weather for a while.
He should give the police the serial number and a copy of the ad.
Last edited by Trsnrtr; 12-12-18 at 07:34 AM. Reason: Edited to the first part of quote.
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Or picker-upper of junked bikes. We either have to believe he bought the bike rusted or bought it and then let it rust neither of which sounds like something a real fence would do.
#25
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So heres what I'm working with:
The person that posted the bike is a Mom. Her description is that the bike was giving to her son (looks to be 5-7 years old) by her "ex".
I found her on Facebook so I have her full name and the city she lives in. Based on her photos, her family doesn't seem to have very much money.
I noticed they removed the handlebars and replaced them with some cheap rusted ones. The original bars were nice and chrome but not nicer than the other aftermarket parts i have on it. Doesn't make sense.
I haven't reported it because I thought about doing a bit of investigating myself. Ask for more photos, what year model, what parts it has, any damages. Nothing to blow my cover but just someone thats really interested. I need proof that they're the thieves. I don't think the police would do any investigating like that. I can't picture them inside an interrogation room pulling off the ol' Brendan Dassey trick (Making a Bike Thief).
The bike isn't insured.
Its been missing since August and I just found it on Offerup this Saturday. 4 months of sitting in there backyard can cause all that rust for sure.
I want justice for these a**hles. My son has autism and one of things he loves the most is shredding his bike to school every morning. I built so he can have a cool lookin bmx bike. Right now hes riding my old Kink bmx bike until i can figure this whole mess out.
Thank you guys for all your advice! Its helped me try to figure out a game plan for this situation.
I'll keep you guys posted on what happens later.
The person that posted the bike is a Mom. Her description is that the bike was giving to her son (looks to be 5-7 years old) by her "ex".
I found her on Facebook so I have her full name and the city she lives in. Based on her photos, her family doesn't seem to have very much money.
I noticed they removed the handlebars and replaced them with some cheap rusted ones. The original bars were nice and chrome but not nicer than the other aftermarket parts i have on it. Doesn't make sense.
I haven't reported it because I thought about doing a bit of investigating myself. Ask for more photos, what year model, what parts it has, any damages. Nothing to blow my cover but just someone thats really interested. I need proof that they're the thieves. I don't think the police would do any investigating like that. I can't picture them inside an interrogation room pulling off the ol' Brendan Dassey trick (Making a Bike Thief).
The bike isn't insured.
Its been missing since August and I just found it on Offerup this Saturday. 4 months of sitting in there backyard can cause all that rust for sure.
I want justice for these a**hles. My son has autism and one of things he loves the most is shredding his bike to school every morning. I built so he can have a cool lookin bmx bike. Right now hes riding my old Kink bmx bike until i can figure this whole mess out.
Thank you guys for all your advice! Its helped me try to figure out a game plan for this situation.
I'll keep you guys posted on what happens later.