Report or file charges????

[4AU4LIFE]

I recently ordered a expansion tank from SOS and it was to be shipped to my house. About 3-4 business days after I ordered, I called and spoke with Chris about the status of it. He stated that it should be there on the coming Thursday. Well that Thursday rolls around and nothing. So the next day I call again and ask abou it. He tracks it on UPS, while I'm on the phone, and they state that they dropped it off at my house 2 days ago. I explain that he didn't get anything at all. Matter of fact, I had received another package from UPS from another Prime member on that Tuesday with no problems.
I went home and looked very good all around the outside of my home to see if he had put it somewhere else, with no luck.
I called Chris back again and we were going to proceed with getting another one and I would have to make a claim with UPS for the lost one.
So I'm outside that night tinkering with my car when the next door neighbors son comes over and asks to borrow some tools. I of course am happy to help another gear head try to fix his own car. I give him free reign over any tools I have to do the job.
After I am done with my project and am ready to call it a night, I decide to walk over and check on the progress. He still hadn't gotten his done and was fed up with trying. He gave me my tools back and I went on home, with tools in hand.
Yesterday(Saturday), I am sitting at computer when the doorbell rings. I open the garage door and his sister walks around to meet me. Guess what she has in her hand.....my tank!!!! She said that she had come home to check on the house(parents out of town) and walked in backyard to do something with pool and found this box ripped open sitting inside the fence !!!! I was happy to get my part but really had feelings hurt that her brother had done that. Now I can't prove he did it but from what she told me, he has been kicked out of house and isn't supposed to be on the property anymore. Although I still see him cover over during the daytime and hang out in the yard. He can't get inside anymore. I feel like he stole it thinking he could sell it or something since he got fired from job for lying to his boss.
His mother wants me to file a police report at least and possibly press charges against him. I don't know if I can press charges since I can't prove he did it. All I know is that it was opened and sitting in their back yard. I guess this kid needs some tough love. BTW, he is 18 yr old.
What would you do in this situation?

 

[Pirana]

That is tough....I have a similar situation but with my mail.

 

[steveny]

What would you do in this situation?

Steal his bike and keep it inside my house. JK :biggrin:

 

[queenlives]

Steal his bike and keep it inside my house. JK :biggrin:

:biggrin: ... great response!

i'd call him and tell him he's welcome to meet me at my house at xxx to discuss and reach a mutually-agreeable resolution. if he shows, great; if not, i'd proceed with a normal suspected theft charge. when together, i'd speak ask him:

* to explain his actions

* suggest a means of moving forward

* suggest a form of restitution, including all phone calls/time/stress, etc. some of this is $'s, some may not be $'s. (when i was a kid, i lived in an orphanage in southern california, lots of citrus trees on the grounds. if you were caught stealing an orange, the theft was paid back with 1 hr of hard labor - working with no pay)

* whatever you agree to, have *him* document it w/in 24 hrs and present you with the written agreement; no document, proceed as you said you would when you spoke with him.

i'd limit the parents involvement at this point,it's between you and him.

i'd let darwin point the direction from here.

good luck, looking forward to hearing whatever you decide to do and the subsequent outcome.

best,
hal

 

[4AU4LIFE]

:biggrin: ... great response!

i'd call him and tell him he's welcome to meet me at my house at xxx to discuss and reach a mutually-agreeable resolution. if he shows, great; if not, i'd proceed with a normal suspected theft charge. when together, i'd speak ask him:

* to explain his actions

* suggest a means of moving forward

* suggest a form of restitution, including all phone calls/time/stress, etc. some of this is $'s, some may not be $'s. (when i was a kid, i lived in an orphanage in southern california, lots of citrus trees on the grounds. if you were caught stealing an orange, the theft was paid back with 1 hr of hard labor - working with no pay)

* whatever you agree to, have *him* document it w/in 24 hrs and present you with the written agreement; no document, proceed as you said you would when you spoke with him.

i'd limit the parents involvement at this point,it's between you and him.

i'd let darwin point the direction from here.

good luck, looking forward to hearing whatever you decide to do and the subsequent outcome.

best,
hal

I have no way to get in touch with him unless he comes by his parents house(my neighbors) where he isn't welcome anymore. His sister says they don't know where he is staying right now.

 

[archangel0585]

I don’t envy you, if you cant get in touch with the kid.. Involve the police.

He’s an adult now, and something like this may rattle his cage a bit. He needs to be accountable for his actions, it's not your place to negotiate or go out of your way. He’s an adult, who is suspected of a nefarious act. Let the police deal with it.

Worst case, nothing happens... best case, something does... then nothing happens again. It’s best for the kid to just know that there are consequences for his actions. Non negotiable one’s.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Yeah, I feel like I need to let him know that I know what happened. I'm sure he is to ashamed to come and tell me face to face like a man would. He is considered a man in the eyes of the law but not in my eyes anymore. :frown:
I think at least filing a report will create a paper trail so the law will know that he does have a criminal history. That way in case something else does happen down the road, I'll have proof that there is a developing pattern and not just a freak thing.
I suppose tomorrow when his parents come home, I'll talk it over with them and see what they have to say.

 

[Cairo94507]

Well that is tough. I would ask him to come over and then I would confront him with your suspicions in a calm manner and explain that you thought you had a good relationship based upon mutual trust, thus the loan of tools, access to tools, etc. Then depending upon his response, if he cops to it and admits he made a bad mistake and he is sorry, I would tell him you appreciate his willingness to step up and accept responsibility like a man, if he does not step up, tell him you are sorry but he is no longer welcome to use any of your stuff and further, not welcome over to your home until he grows up and acts like a mature adult. Then I would speak with his parents and advise them of the situation.

If you do not have a home alarm, get one. Most drug users begin by stealing from those they know.....Not that that is what is going on here, but just a tip.

Good luck.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Well that is tough. I would ask him to come over and then I would confront him with your suspicions in a calm manner and explain that you thought you had a good relationship based upon mutual trust, thus the loan of tools, access to tools, etc. Then depending upon his response, if he cops to it and admits he made a bad mistake and he is sorry, I would tell him you appreciate his willingness to step up and accept responsibility like a man, if he does not step up, tell him you are sorry but he is no longer welcome to use any of your stuff and further, not welcome over to your home until he grows up and acts like a mature adult. Then I would speak with his parents and advise them of the situation.

If you do not have a home alarm, get one. Most drug users begin by stealing from those they know.....Not that that is what is going on here, but just a tip.

Good luck.

I do have a home alarm. Have signs outside stating as such also.
Have 2 black labs that stay inside too.

 

[Meeyatch1]

Talk with the parents and see what they would deem fair. Trying to prove he did it would be difficult though unless someone saw him, or you threaten to have the package fingerprinted and him as well.

 

[W]

And you have what evidence to prove this guy stole your package? Maybe he did and you are just guessing right but I think you need a little bit more than what you've revealed so far.

 

[CokerRat]

Hmm, it seems everybody has assumed that this guy is guilty. Is it possible some punk saw the UPS package sitting there at your door, snatched it, ripped it open and then turfed it over the neighbour's fence when he saw it wasn't anything "valuable" to him?

Your message doesn't have enough detail to know if this is plausible, but my first reaction was that somebody who steals something doesn't usually leave it in essentially plain sight.

 

[Banshee Wail]

Your message doesn't have enough detail to know if this is plausible, but my first reaction was that somebody who steals something doesn't usually leave it in essentially plain sight.

That is funny.

Sorry to hear that this happened to you. If you know your neighbors well enough, I would suggest that you inquire as to why he is not allowed to frequent there home. (Hold your breath I'm about to generalize). Many people steal to pay for drugs. The first people they steal from are family, friends and (silent hush) neighbors.

As far as reporting it, I would. If you are correct that he stole it, than what is to deter him from stealing from you again, and again... As far as evidence you probable can prove it if you do not contaminate your evidence. Obviously fingerprints from the tank, but there is also a chemical process (ninhydrin) that can be done to the box, which may yield a latent print.

Good Luck

 

[Osiris_x11]

Just chill... and let it slide. Bunker up your property, though.

hmmm... Get another UPS package delivered, maybe w/ a horse's head inside it this time around!?! I don't think S.O.S. can accommodate such a request, but I'm sure Mr. Wolf maybe able to assist, lol! :biggrin:

I personally wouldn't confront the "kid" (actually legally he's an adult now), remember this is merely material, not life or death. The odds of him snapping and going postal (pardon the pun, as it's UPS here) are slim to none, but they do exist. Times have changed, alot of vagrant/'lost' kids nowadays don't understand what the repercutions of their actions maybe, so they react spontanenously w/o conscience. It's his families mess, no need for you to get involved.

Is a $100 or so mod' worth you watching you back? :frown:

(he who seeks revenge or vengeance should dig two graves, not one)

 

[4AU4LIFE]

And you have what evidence to prove this guy stole your package? Maybe he did and you are just guessing right but I think you need a little bit more than what you've revealed so far.

Hmm, it seems everybody has assumed that this guy is guilty. Is it possible some punk saw the UPS package sitting there at your door, snatched it, ripped it open and then turfed it over the neighbour's fence when he saw it wasn't anything "valuable" to him?

Your message doesn't have enough detail to know if this is plausible, but my first reaction was that somebody who steals something doesn't usually leave it in essentially plain sight

As I stated in the opening statement, I don't have proof that he did it. I am strictly going on what I have been by his sister. That is why I am a little reluctant to do anything quite yet due to not hearing his side of the story.
Of course it is possible that someone else walking down the street saw it, picked it up and opened and then didn't have a clue on what it was so ditched it in his back yard.
It just doesn't look good for him due to the path he has chosen to travel down right now.

 

[Cairo94507]

I guess anything is possible right?

I mean an alien just crusing the neighborhood in his Martian cruiser could have seen it, grabbed it, opened it, realized he already had one and did not need another. Thus, tossed it over the neighbors fence - right? It's possible -but not probable.

I vote that the kids is the probable culprit and that is that.

 

[fannsx]

I will do nothing.
You got your part back. The boy and his family problem should saty at their house. Don't get involved. Stay away. Just be more careful and let all delivery people know not to leave things at your door.
Wheather he did it or not,it sounds like he maybe a problem child, or adult.
You never know who he may hang out with, especially these days. His mother wants you to file charges to teach him a lesson tells me that she has no control of him anymore,or ever. Not a family I want to be close to.

 

[NSXLNT]

You could always thank him for finding your lost package and asking his sister to return it to you.............

 

[CokerRat]

I mean an alien just crusing the neighborhood in his Martian cruiser could have seen it, grabbed it, opened it, realized he already had one and did not need another. Thus, tossed it over the neighbors fence - right? It's possible -but not probable.

Your post reminds me of the intro voiceover to Kevin Rubio's "Troops" -- its a Star Wars stormtroopers take-off on "Cops" video hosted over on theforce.net. The Bad Boys music plays for the lead-in and the announcer ends the usual statements with, "All suspects are guilty, period. Otherwise they wouldn't be suspects."

It'd be a totally different story if the sis found the box in his room, or in the garage, or in their car, or in the basement... you get the idea, because only someone with regular access to the house could have practically put it there. But if it was laying junked in the yard, within chucking range from the fence/gate, then it literally could've been anybody who walked past the house. And hey, maybe that isn't the case, since 92NSX didn't clarify one way or the other. I don't see why you're so sure you don't need any other facts or details to ascertain the guilt of the neighbour.

 

[Meeyatch1]

Well, if you have ruled out shooting him, I would probably just let it slide the more I think about it. If he is a criminal and you bust him, or he is not and you still bust him, he will probably be preety mad and may retaliate. If you park ANY cars outside that could be bad news. :frown:

 

[4AU4LIFE]

I am satisfied that I have my part. I have given all the information I know about the situation on here already which I realize isn't enough to be convinced that he did it. I'm surely not ready to be concrete on that.
There might be a sibling rivalry and they could be trying to get each other in trouble also....who knows????
I feel like it would be in my best interest to not pursue it until I have solid proof like a confession or something of that nature.

 

[White92]

You could always pretend as if nothing happened, then the next time he wants to borrow tools let him. You could even go over and help him, but instead you are just removing random parts from his car and pocketing them. A fuse here and there. Maybe a spark plug or two......Then you could chuck them over your backyard fence and pretend you don't know how they got there.