I had two fairly unique ladders stolen out of my truck on the 3rd. I'd have caught them in the act but, my dog had barked at a bunch of random stuff the night before so I had her on ignore. I saw them both on OfferUp the next morning and arranged a meeting with the "seller". His items for sale looked like a laundry list of things that would disappear from a jobsite. I went well prepared with my favorite carry arm a FNS .40 compact and arrived early. I pulled up behind him when he got there and let him start hauling the ladders to my truck. After they were safely at my vehicle I said "We are going to have a little talk about how you came into possession of these ladders". It's pretty satisfying to watch someone crapping their pants so hard they smoke right through their cigarette and into the filter without missing a beat. Told him if I so much as see him or anyone else near my home I'll shoot them on sight, no hesitation. He said that seemed fair. Contacting local LE's today with his description, OfferUp account, license plate and anything else of use for them. I use Ring cameras at my shop and they are super useful, I've actually yelled at people through my phone and scared them away, I'll be installing them at home now too.

Should had the cops show up too.

MAGA

He really would have cshit if cops had pulled up too.

I like the way you handled that.

If you wouldve brought cops, guarantee you they woukdve dicked it up and those ladders would not be gotten back as fast or if ever.

Yadda yadda "due process"

Good job dude!!!

Yep, this. You would not have gotten them back.

Some years ago the husband of a good friend of my wife had his high end (I forget the price- shock probably!) titanium frame mountain bike stolen. It was the only one in Co Springs. Cops "couldn't do a thing".

Well, he went cruising, and after a couple weeks located it.

Stole it back.

Love a happy ending and agree, the direct method was better. I wouldn't go so far as to say he wouldn't have gotten the ladders back for certain with the po-po involved, but potentially not and probably a hassle.

Had a rental diesel generator stolen from work customer. It was special what with the diesel, only 2 in the world and we still had the other in the shop. A week later it showed up on craigslist. Boss called customer ,they arranged to go see it, and took a detective along. The exact words were: "I dont know where I got it, would you like his phone number"

The guys were right about if the cops were involved.

But they WILL be involved. Better save that information on the dirtball and watch for his reprisals. If anything goes wrong, I suggest you bring your "corrected" story to a judge and seek a restraining order. If you are lucky and get one granted, the dirtball will be going to jail if he violates it.But it won't end there. Good luck.

Yep. That was my thinking too. And of the situation had gone sideways and he’d of had to use deadly force on the thief’s, he’d of probably been arrested & screwed for going after them.

sounds right Indian of him, think Crow and horses!

When tools and equipment started disappearing from the high school auto body shop where I was the instructor, I had a simple, very effective solution. I padlocked the shop, with about five students' cars inside, and informed the students and their parents that the shop was off limits until further notice. The next morning, there was a huge pile of "found" stuff outside the shop door, including a few items that had been missing for months. A couple of kids didn't show up for about a week, and when they did the bruises they were nursing were a sight to see!
Jerry

Glad you got your stuff back.

You were nicer than I would have been.

I can guarantee he would have not wanted to come back for seconds.

An uncle had a bunch of custom guitars stolen some years back. Couldn’t get the local PD or county sheriff to show any interest in recovering them. He found them for sale in a town nearby out of a paper add and went to verify that they were indeed his. The guy had them stashed in the attic and brought them out for him to examine. He made the ID and used the excuse of going to the bank for cash to slip out and drive around the block.

Called the county and told them he’s found the stolen goods from case #XXXX and they need to get someone out here to get his stuff and arrest the seller. County sheriffs dispatch told him they didn’t do stuff like that and he’d need to just pay the guy if he wanted his guitars back. So he hung up and called back and told them he had a shotgun and was going to shoot the guy and take his goods back. Sheriffs deputies were there in less than 10 minutes and made sure he had his guitars after they arrested the guy.

Guess they do stuff like that after all!

It makes me made when laziness infests a department like that. If they think that's not their job, they need to sell shoes or insurance instead of being an LEO.

My sister and some of her neighbors started having yard decorations, door wreaths and the like stolen a couple of years back. Reports to their local city police were basically brushed off with a 'we'll look into it'. Little Sis, being the ever persistent type, kept bugging the police, including driving through neighborhoods looking for a big fancy 'one-of'' door wreath she made herself that was stolen off her front door. She had photos of it too. She found it on the other side of town hanging on the the front door of a house along with some other things her neighbors had stolen from their yards and porches.

She notified police that she'd located where the stolen items were but they still seemed to be dragging their feet about doing anything to recover them. Sis went and knocked on the door and recovered her wreath herself face to face from the mother of the young woman who took it. Finally shamed the police into coming and talking to the thief and recovering the rest of the stolen things.

As it turned out the thief was a young single female public school teacher that a few policemen were 'friendly' with.

Great way to handle it PDX.

Thanks all. I was concerned if the cops were there I'd not get them back. I did not see them taking something from one party and giving to the other without some kind of definitive proof. At best they'd be tied up in evidence for longer than they were worth. I knew that they knew where I live and that's a risk but, also it's a risk to be an easy mark. I think it boiled down to psychology. They are addicts and a revenge scenario does nothing to enhance their ability to get and use drugs. I was careful to be very calm and professional about it. Although the content of my words to him were definitive that if I saw him again there was going to be shooting, I kept to what I actually knew. I did not directly accuse him of being the thief, I only asserted that they were mine and that I was taking them, I did not create a situation where he might feel a need to pushback, be prideful or defend which could have led to a violent outcome. I think the deadpan delivery and lack of emotion probably led him to believe I meant it and I do. That all being said I'll be keeping a close eye and I am installing cameras on my across the street neighbors home so I get a good view of my front. I'll check those each morning for persons trying to poison my dog or weird behavior outside. The cameras are motion activated so you can scan a nights worth of video quickly. I do this at my shop and it's kind of fun. I've given an errant employee his lunch garbage back he tried tossing on one of the trucks and numerous other things. It feels good to know what all is going on. I'll also be moving the FN Self Loading Police 12ga to the bedside position for a few weeks. I've got his plate and OfferUp account that I'll be sharing with local LE so here's to good outcomes.

Problem is nowadays most honest people are going to have insurance on their stuff and the cops figure it’s just as easy for the owner to file a claim for replacement, so why bother investigating and arresting bad guys?

The other part of the problem is that the bad guys know it, figure if you have insurance you’re not out anything, so there’s no reason not to “spread the wealth”. They see you having insurance as permission for them to steal your [bleep].