Had gear stolen 3 years ago...

R

r3vo1ution1991

Inspired
Now I see a picture of one of the items that was stolen in the background of a Craigslist picture. I know for sure it's mine because it was a custom built pedalboard and case. Is there anything I can do at this point? Can I get it back in some way?

UPDATE 1: Spoke with two secretaries and a cadet at the police department where the report was filed. Secretary transferred me to a cadet, the cadet then transferred me to the secretary of the detective unit (thankfully I got the report # while speaking to the cadet). The Detectives Unit secretary said that she's not sure exactly what could happen, but at minimum she's gonna have me complete a supplemental police report. From there she said it could be sent to a supervisor or someone and see what could happen next.

UPDATE 2: A cadet called me back and she started a supplemental police report. She was asking me questions about the seller, but I didn't have any info, so now I'm becoming a NARC for music gear and posing as a potential buyer for the item being sold on CL.

UPDATE 3: Guy responded to me when I asked about the piece of gear he was selling, was able to get his address and forward that information on to the police department. Now it's a waiting game because a detective has to look into it more.
 
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r3vo1ution1991 said:
Now I see a picture of one of the items that was stolen in the background of a Craigslist picture. I know for sure it's mine because it was a custom built pedalboard and case. Is there anything I can do at this point? Can I get it back in some way?
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if you have proof it's yours and there was a police report when it happened, you could probably contact police. or if you have giant balls go to the listing and say hey thats my pedalboard!
 
dpeterson said:
if you have proof it's yours and there was a police report when it happened, you could probably contact police. or if you have giant balls go to the listing and say hey thats my pedalboard!
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I unfortunately do not have big enough balls to do that lol.

If the item wasn't a custom built item I probably wouldn't care that much about it
 
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I dont know where your located...but in Florida, that is Trafficking In Stolen Property..It is a second degree felony...Contact the original detective who the case was assigned to or his SUPERVISOR......There is a lot that can be done....
 
BRC said:
I dont know where your located...but in Florida, that is Trafficking In Stolen Property..It is a second degree felony...Contact the original detective who the case was assigned to or his SUPERVISOR......There is a lot that can be done....
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Unfortunately there wasn't a detective assigned to the case (I'm assuming because there were no leads).

Spoke with a cadet again, and we started a supplemental report. She said I need to get as much info on the seller as possible, so I'm channeling my inner NARC and posing as a buyer for the item he is selling.
 
Are you in the Tampa Bay Area..??

DISREGARD....I see your up north !!! Just get his phone number, cell or hardline..The rest is easy...Good lead.
 
Keep in mind, It's probable that the seller is not not the person who stole it, but a person who bought it from a seller in the past that he/she didn't know was stolen. I often wonder if I've unintentionally bought stolen gear in the past off ebay. Those times when you get a "too good to be true" deal that works out perfectly.
 
FullReverse said:
Keep in mind, It's probable that the seller is not not the person who stole it, but a person who bought it from a seller in the past that he/she didn't know was stolen. I often wonder if I've unintentionally bought stolen gear in the past off ebay. Those times when you get a "too good to be true" deal that works out perfectly.
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I acknowledge that's probably the case, which is why if the guy is really helpful, I'd be willing to give him some money to "buy it back". Hopefully he knows/remembers who he bought it from and give that dude up.
 
I hope you get your stuff back, however is has to be done. Thieves suck. I'm still keeping an eye open for a '67 Les Paul Custom and a '77 ES-335 that were stolen from me in the early '80s.
 
Just keep in mind that it's also likely the person selling it just bought it from the theif but may not be the theif.
 
I"m not sure of this but I think if you can prove it's yours I believe the police can confiscate it and there may be a possession of stolen property type charge against the holder even if he's an innocent third party, unless he can prove he really is innocent.
 
"Michigan Law 750.535 prohibits the buying, receiving, possessing, concealing, or aiding in concealment of stolen, embezzled, or converted property, including motor vehicles. This is a crime that is typically charged by the prosecution when police don't know who stole the property, but found someone in possession of it."
 
Simular stolen item for me here in florida. Filed a police report then 3 days later a detective calls me and says they have no lead so they are closing the case. Two days go by and I see my stolen goods on craiglist. I call detective they try to set up a buy and the seller doesn't show up. Detective keeps after the guy and sets a meet for the next day where they do show up. Both suspects were locked up for two years on multiple charges and I got my stuff back right away no questions asked. I had given a vary detailed description in the original police report so there was no denying stuff was mine.

In your case like said the seller is prolly not who stole it in the first place. Sucks for him to be charged in trafficking stolen goods but it is what it is. I don't know if you could not press charges being the police are involved or not. May want to contact the seller and say hey your trying to sell My stolen merchandise but I'm willing to buy it back and forget about it.
 
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CraigP said:
Statute of limitations on a misdemeanor theft?
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Trafficking in stolen property is not a misdemeanor..I have no idea the value of the ops property regarding the original theft...There is no Statute of Limitations if there was no suspect, (to a degree) or leaves the state or blah blah....Its been fun....
 
BRC said:
Trafficking in stolen property is not a misdemeanor..I have no idea the value of the ops property regarding the original theft...There is no Statute of Limitations if there was no suspect, (to a degree) or leaves the state or blah blah....Its been fun....
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Okay, I guess different penalties and limits on prosecution in different states. Good luck to the OP with this!
 
r3vo1ution1991 said:
I am not, I'm in Michigan
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There's part of the problem... We have some of the most incompetent detectives, mostly municipal, in our towns up here speaking from experience.

I once received an email on google that my account was being monitored and received a phone call same day for selling a used iPhone 5 on Craigslist. I spent an hour on the phone with a GRPD detective, emailed back and forth, all to rule out that someone had their iPhone 5 stolen at a Planet Fitness that same day (or subsequent week) that I posted the ad. Problem was they didn't used any deductive logic: stolen - iPhone 5 16GB Verizon | what I sold - iPhone 5 64GB AT&T. Literally the detective just said "yep, I'm convinced it's not the same phone that you sold". #Genius

With your story, I hope you find a means to an end on it and justice is served. I let a buddy borrow a 1982 Squier Telecaster MIJ when he was gigging in TN. The night of his gig, someone busted his rear window and stole it out of the back... Still saddens me to this day...

Let me know if you need some muscle to bust up the crooks. Out of curiosity, can you PM me the CL listing?
 
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