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Only_Canon
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p.1 #1 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The world can be such an ugly place. Sometimes I cannot believe how many bad
people there are out there. But as my husband says, "Greed is a Mother
F*cker" and that is EXACTLY what got this SOB caught!

Over the weekend, while I was away enjoying Lake Tahoe with my girls, my
husband had been planning and scheming to catch that guy who more than
likely continued victimizing others through his scandalous ways.

As if swindling $1,250.00 from my family wasn't enough, he kept posting fake
advertisements on Craigs List. My husband continued to respond to his ad's
from alternate email address's, leaving other phone numbers of friends and
neighbors (who also wanted to catch this guy). And then he waited for him to
bite the bait. He agreed several times to meet this past weekend, not
knowing it was my husband who he already robbed on Friday night. Both times
he no showed.

Last night though things just worked perfectly (for us) and when he agreed to
meet again, my husband was READY. Let's just put this in a nutshell: He was
SHOCKED when it was my husband who showed up to meet him and not another
victim. My husbands demeanor was COMPLETELY different, not the kind
gentleman that he met back on Friday night. To this 509, 150 lb, 26 year
old, blonde hair, blue eyed kid, my husband who is 605, 220 was a pissed off
giant ready to kick some ass!!!!! And that kid was scared. He tried to run,
but was detained several times. (I keep imagining a Lion knocking around a
mouse and it makes me laugh.) He said he was sorry, that he messed up but he
didn't have our money. He said he would scrub our toilets to make it right.
(I'm thinking more like rub his face in shit.) He pleaded not to call the
cops but we were 10 steps ahead of him already. I was at work and had
already ensured police were dispatched.

Now, he is in jail and there is no amount of bail that will get him out
until his court hearing. He was on probation for forgery and the chick that
was in the car driving was on probation for multiple thefts. They were
searchable and more evidence was found in the vehicle. The police also
conducted a search of his apartment. There were a bunch of scum bags there
and I hear the place was a sesspool. filthy and dirty. A house full of meth
users. 37 more items were booked into custody as evidence.

Financial Crimes is investigating and so far there are 16 victims. Some of
the things found in his apartment were 5 drivers licenses belonging to other
people (more victims), 45-50 credit cards, 2 social security cards, 2 credit
card verification machines, stacks of blank checks and a print making
device. Apple computers, Canon ' L' Lens and Digital SLR.

When he was arrested he was high on crank. It sickens me to know that my
money probably kept him high all weekend, that it supported a drug habit and
I know even if the judge orders victim restitution that I will more than
likely never see that money again. He isn't the type to earn an honest
living. And he'll probably continue to rob Peter to pay Paul. But being that
I am an optimistic person and always look to the brighter side, I AM happy
that he has been caught, I am happy that we put an end to his fraudulent
schemes. I am proud of my husbands persistence and diligence in catching
this guy. I am thankful for the thoroughness of the officers investigation.
And if I never see that $1250 again, then I'm okay with knowing that every
penny was worth it to get that scum off the streets !!

Monday, May 5, 2008

I've since learned the suspect's court date is May 21st and since he cannot
bail out of jail, that will be his permanent residency at least until then.
That puts a smile on my face! With that one arrest there were 10 felony
charges and 1 misdemeanor charged against him. The suspect admitted to my
husband just before police showed up that he had an inside connection to the
Apple computers so I dropped a dime to the head of Apple Security today
to let them know that the 2 computers the guy tried selling might be stolen from there warehouses from an inside source. I'm hoping they can prove they were stolen and if
so, then Apple will become yet another victim and hopefully they'll add 2 more charges of being in possession of stolen property. My husband had even contacted the woman who owned the box with the shipping label (the one he claimed to be his employer) and she said that he must have stolen her boxes when she sent business supplies down to southern california.
She thinks he might have stolen her items which never arrived in Southern Cali.
(stealing mail is a federal offense!!)

Anyways, Here's some lessons that I have learned.

Be careful out there.
Never judge a book by it's cover.
Always keep your guard up.
Trust your instincts.
Buy from a reputable source.
Criminals are sneaky but can be out smarted !!!
Keep your heart strings wrapped tightly around your heart
so strangers can't pull at them!

May 12, 2008 at 04:40 PM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #2 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Excellent Post.

May 12, 2008 at 04:46 PM

Scott Sewell
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p.1 #3 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Does this really belong on a gear discussion forum? IMO, it doesn't.

I find it interesting, however that it took this event to teach the OP those lessons. Interesting...those are the kinds of lessons I thought most people learned as children.

May 12, 2008 at 04:48 PM

Bruce Sawle
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p.1 #4 · Stolen Camera & Computer

This was the perfect Monday Morning Read. Great Job.

May 12, 2008 at 05:03 PM

gbee
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p.1 #5 · Stolen Camera & Computer

IMO it does.

Oh praise the Lord for righteous people to lecture us, we take it as a blessing, thine will be done. "Oh look Marge, ladies volley ball is on the telly!"

Scott Sewell wrote:
Does this really belong on a gear discussion forum? IMO, it doesn't.

I find it interesting, however that it took this event to teach the OP those lessons. Interesting...those are the kinds of lessons I thought most people learned as children.

May 12, 2008 at 05:09 PM

EOS up North
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p.1 #6 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Scott Sewell wrote:
Does this really belong on a gear discussion forum? IMO, it doesn't.

I find it interesting, however that it took this event to teach the OP those lessons. Interesting...those are the kinds of lessons I thought most people learned as children.

Doesn't really matter to me what forum its in...AWESOME post. I can only imagine the look on that scum-bag's face!

My only advice (I only mention it because you talk about lessons learned at the end) would be to be carefull about the detention part. The laws about citizens arrest are pretty clear - the crime must be in progress, and you must be a first hand witness to warrant dentention. And it must be a felony, a citizen can't make an arrest for a misdemeanor. Since you detained him after the fact (he was only showing up on a Craigs list call), you open yourself up to a false imprisonment / illegal detention charges. Yes, it's clear to any rational thinking person that he's dead-to-rights guilty, but if this idiot were ever get the right scum-bag lawyer.... You get the picture. However, in my book you would have been justified beating this guy with a baseball bat. Unfortunately, the world doesn't share my view of justice.

Edited by EOS up North on May 12, 2008 at 08:16 AM GMT

Edited on May 12, 2008 at 05:16 PM

May 12, 2008 at 05:15 PM

Only_Canon
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p.1 #7 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Ben Horne wrote:
Excellent Post.

Thanks

May 12, 2008 at 05:16 PM

Saad Syed
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p.1 #8 · Stolen Camera & Computer

he got owned... game, set, match.

May 12, 2008 at 05:21 PM

Photonik
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p.1 #9 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Wow. It's always shocking to see how messed up some people are. And I don't mean the thief. That there are people who steal to support drug addictions isn't so much shocking to me as just plain depressing. What's shocking is how some people can equate getting some money stolen as "having their heartstrings pulled" and how they and others think that putting the human being in a cage for a long time or ( even more depressing) "beating this guy with a baseball bat" are reasonable and justified "solutions" to the problem with this guy. Some of you need a bit more perspective on life. Yes indeed, sometimes "the world can be such an ugly place".

Also, this post has no business in the canon slr forum. Please move it to miscellaneous. I dont need to sort through this crap to get to the latest 5D rumors and "what lens should I buy" threads.

Edited by Photonik on May 12, 2008 at 09:26 AM GMT

Edited on May 12, 2008 at 05:26 PM

May 12, 2008 at 05:21 PM

wkhc168
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p.1 #10 · Stolen Camera & Computer

This is interesting. How did he scam $1200 from you again? There must be lessons learnt there.

May 12, 2008 at 05:22 PM

gbee
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p.1 #11 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Yes, we should bring back public flogging followed by hanging ~ we only lock them up because we'd be locked up if we did what we WANTED to do to these ... angels.

We should make it legal to beat them, then we'd not need a different perspective.

Photonik wrote: Some of you need a bit more perspective on life. Y

May 12, 2008 at 05:37 PM

timbop
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p.1 #12 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Yeah, attack the victim - that's always a classy move. Obviously she is really upset right now, and you HAVE NO IDEA the nature of the fraud, but why give lattitude in this respect?

Photonik wrote:
Wow. It's always shocking to see how messed up some people are. And I don't mean the thief. That there are people who steal to support drug addictions isn't so much shocking to me as just plain depressing. What's shocking is how some people can equate getting some money stolen as "having their heartstrings pulled" and how they and others think that putting the human being in a cage for a long time or ( even more depressing) "beating this guy with a baseball bat" are reasonable and justified "solutions" to the problem with this guy. Some of you need a bit more perspective on life. Yes indeed, sometimes "the world can be such an ugly place".

Also, this post has no business in the canon slr forum. Please move it to miscellaneous. I dont need to sort through this crap to get to the latest 5D rumors and "what lens should I buy" threads.

Edited by Photonik on May 12, 2008 at 09:26 AM GMT

May 12, 2008 at 05:45 PM

Marcus Watts
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p.1 #13 · Stolen Camera & Computer

There is always some fool who thinks that good old fashioned punishment is no solution.

May 12, 2008 at 05:58 PM

ontime
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p.1 #14 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Did you ever stop to think about what led to his drug habits, his stealing, and his criminal activities? Drug habits are a product of the real problem, not the source.

I do think this is a good story, but look deeper.

May 12, 2008 at 06:14 PM

Photonik
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p.1 #15 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Yawn. Thanks for moving it at least.

Edited on May 12, 2008 at 08:01 PM

May 12, 2008 at 08:00 PM

EltonTeng
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p.1 #16 · Stolen Camera & Computer

ontime wrote:
Did you ever stop to think about what led to his drug habits, his stealing, and his criminal activities? Drug habits are a product of the real problem, not the source.

I do think this is a good story, but look deeper.

There may be special circumstances that led to the drug habits, stealing, and criminal activities. However, the criminal activities still need to be punished according to the magnitude of the crime. We can try as much as we can to fix the "real problem" but the current bad behavior has to be punished. The punishment in the form of incarceration should be part of the rehabilitation process if required.

May 12, 2008 at 08:55 PM

LightStalker
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p.1 #17 · Stolen Camera & Computer

Glad to hear several more pieces of human debris are off the street!

Now if only the waste of protoplasm that stole stuff out of my car would get caught. And/or get the living crap beat out of him...

Perhaps some peoples' perspective on proper justice and/or punishment would change if they were the ones who had been victims of a crime. I don't want to "understand" why some lowlife stole stuff. I want them off the street. Now. Before they rip someone else off. I don't care if they are on drugs. If they want to destroy their own body, hey -- more power to 'em. If they can scam people and steal stuff, then they are capable of earning an honest living, and they can use honest-gotten money to remove themselves from the gene pool with drugs.

There are more than enough innocent people who have medical issues, who have been victims of crime or other tragedy for me to give a damn about some dirtbag repeat offender who, if caught and having completed "treatment," will be back on the street stealing, raping and/or killing again. If you think rehabilitation works so well, then you have them move into your house for a year when they get out. Same for judges and parole boards -- you guys have the nice people you let out of jail live with you for a while -- just to make sure you didn't screw up.

Everyone's quality of life is greatly diminished when we tolerate "victimless" property crimes. Throw. The. Book. At. Them.

Edited on May 13, 2008 at 05:26 AM

May 13, 2008 at 05:25 AM

carlsbadbum
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p.1 #18 · Stolen Camera & Computer

gbee wrote:
Yes, we should bring back public flogging followed by hanging ~ we only lock them up because we'd be locked up if we did what we WANTED to do to these ... angels.

We should make it legal to beat them, then we'd not need a different perspective.

Yes, save the tax payers lots of money.

May 13, 2008 at 02:47 PM

claudermilk
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p.1 #19 · Stolen Camera & Computer

This is the "Forum & Miscellaneous" section, isn't it? Seems like just the place here for the post. I'll leave the rest as uncalled-for IMHO.

Nice post, love to hear of scumbags getting what is coming to them.

May 13, 2008 at 05:37 PM

Thats Fresh
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p.1 #20 · Stolen Camera & Computer

got em! haha.

the pit bull would have bit him on his jugular he if broke into our house.

May 14, 2008 at 06:53 PM

ontime
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p.1 #21 · Stolen Camera & Computer

EltonTeng wrote:
ontime wrote:
Did you ever stop to think about what led to his drug habits, his stealing, and his criminal activities? Drug habits are a product of the real problem, not the source.

I do think this is a good story, but look deeper.

There may be special circumstances that led to the drug habits, stealing, and criminal activities. However, the criminal activities still need to be punished according to the magnitude of the crime. We can try as much as we can to fix the "real problem" but the current bad behavior has to be punished. The punishment in the form of incarceration should be part of the rehabilitation process if required.

Special circumstances? If we're talking about drug use as a whole, these are circumstances brought about by structural violence in most of the cases; by the unseen dimensions of society that pervasively and ultimately relegate people to a lower status in our country.

I agree with you, but we seem to focus too much on the retributivist / consequentialist notions of the law. Do you think that jail time is going to:
1. Stop people from using drugs?
2. Fix people's drug problems?
3. Solve any of the root causes that lead to drug use?

Anti-drug policy is the same way; it does pretty much nothing... and this is where these laws come from. It's funny, we focused on the demand by locking up people, and it didn't work. Then we focused on the supply and tried to stop the drugs coming into the country, and it didn't work. Both at the same time? Didn't work. That's the problem with the way government approaches problems: well, many times they simply don't understand them.

May 14, 2008 at 07:27 PM

carlsbadbum
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p.1 #22 · Stolen Camera & Computer

ontime wrote:
Anti-drug policy is the same way; it does pretty much nothing. It's funny, we focused on the demand by locking up people, and it didn't work. Then we focused on the supply and tried to stop the drugs coming into the country, and it didn't work. Both at the same time? Didn't work.

How about focus on killing all drug users and the dealers. This works if you have limited resources.

When Moa took over China in 1949 he was facing a country of opium addicts, and in a short time he took care the drug problem. Rehab the users cost money, trying to catch dealers cost a lot more money, so at the end it's much cheaper and easier to round up the users and hang them. When drug problem is gone so are thieves and violent crimes.

Singapore has one of toughest drug laws in place, they hang you the next day if they catch you with illegal drugs.

May 14, 2008 at 10:08 PM

DanBrown
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p.1 #23 · Stolen Camera & Computer

carlsbadbum wrote:
When Moa took over China in 1949 he was facing a country of opium addicts, and in a short time he took care the drug problem. Rehab the users cost money, trying to catch dealers cost a lot more money, so at the end it's much cheaper and easier to round up the users and hang them. .

I think Moa (sic) also had a way of dealing with people who misspelled his name.

May 14, 2008 at 11:10 PM

Scott Sewell
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p.1 #24 · Stolen Camera & Computer

claudermilk wrote:
This is the "Forum & Miscellaneous" section, isn't it? Seems like just the place here for the post. I'll leave the rest as uncalled-for IMHO.

Nice post, love to hear of scumbags getting what is coming to them.

People...just so it's clear, this thread was started in a gear discussion forum (I believe it was Canon). That's why I asked the questions originally. Evidently Fred or a moderator didn't think this kind of post belonged on a gear discussion forum. I rest my case, thank you.

Heck, I think it's a great story. But Fred has nearly two dozen separate forums on his site for a reason...if we want to read/learn about Canon gear, we go there, if we want to see sports images, we go there, and so on. What I find interesting is that those who want to dish out the punishment to the perp in the story don't even have enough respect for Fred's site to think that posts belong in the appropriate forums. This isn't rocket science.

I'd bet money, too, that those who are quick to say let's pull out the baseball bats are some of the last people who would ever have the nerve to do or say something like that if it weren't for the internet.

Edited on May 14, 2008 at 11:53 PM

May 14, 2008 at 11:52 PM

claudermilk
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p.1 #25 · Stolen Camera & Computer

OK, then I'll retract the first part as it was moved before I saw it. For the rest, I found the comment unnecessarily condescending, just my opinion. I don't recall mentioning baseball bats, just that I'm happy they are going to jail for theft. Anyway, point made & dragging it on will just turn ugly, so I'm done.

May 15, 2008 at 04:11 PM


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