Caught the Theif

[svon89]

Unfortunately, there are people out there who just feel they can take what they want. After a neighbor had some stuff walk, he installed the wireless driveway alarm. I took the same route. Put one up, and there is only one way in or out, so I know when someone drives down the drive as soon as they do. If nobody is around, then it doesn't do much good, but usually someone is around.

I have had a few dealings selling on craigslist, and always try to meet the people rather than have them come to my home. Had a guy who was supposed to show up to look at something, never showed, I called and he said he wouldn't be able to make it. Later that day, who came down the drive, but that same guy. Said he was in the area and stopped by. My truck was out in the back, so from the drive it looked like nobody was home. I calmly walked back in the house, grabbed the camera, took his picture and told him if anything dissapeared I would give his number and picture to the police.

You handled it right, the law doesn't protect the good guy, just the criminals.

 

[highpointtree]

Unfortunately, there are people out there who just feel they can take what they want. After a neighbor had some stuff walk, he installed the wireless driveway alarm. I took the same route. Put one up, and there is only one way in or out, so I know when someone drives down the drive as soon as they do. If nobody is around, then it doesn't do much good, but usually someone is around.

I have had a few dealings selling on craigslist, and always try to meet the people rather than have them come to my home. Had a guy who was supposed to show up to look at something, never showed, I called and he said he wouldn't be able to make it. Later that day, who came down the drive, but that same guy. Said he was in the area and stopped by. My truck was out in the back, so from the drive it looked like nobody was home. I calmly walked back in the house, grabbed the camera, took his picture and told him if anything dissapeared I would give his number and picture to the police.

You handled it right, the law doesn't protect the good guy, just the criminals.

My wife also took pictures of him and the truck, license plate, etc. we also have video cameras. two of which caught him on the property. don't think he is aware of that though. I havn't been robbed yet, I believe that is because most people that know me also know of the cameras and alarm system. that does little to protect your family though. nothing beets a shotgun for strangers with bad intentions!!

 

[LEES WOODC]

Unfortunately, there are people out there who just feel they can take what they want. After a neighbor had some stuff walk, he installed the wireless driveway alarm. I took the same route. Put one up, and there is only one way in or out, so I know when someone drives down the drive as soon as they do. If nobody is around, then it doesn't do much good, but usually someone is around.

I have had a few dealings selling on craigslist, and always try to meet the people rather than have them come to my home. Had a guy who was supposed to show up to look at something, never showed, I called and he said he wouldn't be able to make it. Later that day, who came down the drive, but that same guy. Said he was in the area and stopped by. My truck was out in the back, so from the drive it looked like nobody was home. I calmly walked back in the house, grabbed the camera, took his picture and told him if anything dissapeared I would give his number and picture to the police.

You handled it right, the law doesn't protect the good guy, just the criminals.

I've had the same problem with craigslist.
Morons showing up after hours.
I had one last weekend who came after advertised hours. Caught him snoopin around the mill and leanto. Luckily I was still here and I gave him an earfull.

 

[husky455rancher]

well if one wanted to do so you could drill a small hole in the log and add a little black powder and plug up the log. im not saying its a good idea but im not saying its a bad one either.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

sounds better than it is

i did that let a house with women and kids in it on fire and almost killed a kid when the door blew off the stove. i had the excuse i was drunk when i came up with it

 

[highpointtree]

well if one wanted to do so you could drill a small hole in the log and add a little black powder and plug up the log. im not saying its a good idea but im not saying its a bad one either.

Believe it or not if the crook got hurt or killed, I would be up on some serious legal charges. you can not protect yourself with the intent to hurt someone else. if the crook lived he would have a lot more money from the lawsuit and I would most likely be locked up

 

[robespierre]

Tonight I went to my friends property where I split and store wood.I noticed 3-4 truckloads missing.I know there are only 2 families on the property so I went looking around and I found the wood under a carport of one of the property owners.I calmed myself down and knocked on the door.lady answers and I had seen her many times before walking her horse when I was splitting wood and said to her "why did you take my firewood" she said you need to talk to my husband.i said please get him now.she said we are preparing for a party and are busy and this will have to wait for tomorrow.i told her I am not going anywhere until I speak with her husband.she said he'll be out after his shower and slammed the door.he came out a minute later completely dressed and obvoiously not showered and said there was a misunderstanding and he would like to pay for the wood.i said 600 bucks and he laughed and said he'll return it tomorrow.i said you need to pay for what you have used.i had know idea when he took it because I hadn't been on the property in a month.he offered 50 for what he used and he will return the rest by 1pm tomorrow.i said 100 and return it the rest by 1pm tomorrow. He then asked me if I have workers compensation and liability insurance for my wood business.i told him I don't sell wood.he said he'll check it out with the county.i said it better be back tomorrow afternoon or I will call the police..that is where I left it.well see. What happens.

 

[fearofpavement]

Some people...

 

[Del_]

Tonight I went to my friends property where I split and store wood.I noticed 3-4 truckloads missing.I know there are only 2 families on the property so I went looking around and I found the wood under a carport of one of the property owners.I calmed myself down and knocked on the door.lady answers and I had seen her many times before walking her horse when I was splitting wood and said to her "why did you take my firewood" she said you need to talk to my husband.i said please get him now.she said we are preparing for a party and are busy and this will have to wait for tomorrow.i told her I am not going anywhere until I speak with her husband.she said he'll be out after his shower and slammed the door.he came out a minute later completely dressed and obvoiously not showered and said there was a misunderstanding and he would like to pay for the wood.i said 600 bucks and he laughed and said he'll return it tomorrow.i said you need to pay for what you have used.i had know idea when he took it because I hadn't been on the property in a month.he offered 50 for what he used and he will return the rest by 1pm tomorrow.i said 100 and return it the rest by 1pm tomorrow. He then asked me if I have workers compensation and liability insurance for my wood business.i told him I don't sell wood.he said he'll check it out with the county.i said it better be back tomorrow afternoon or I will call the police..that is where I left it.well see. What happens.

I hear you!

I would have called the police from in front of his house and waited for them to arrive.

My log splitter has dozens of 'tits' welded on the ram to keep wood from slipping. I didn't plan it to but it gives a signature to the end of each piece of wood it pushes. I'm sure if I took the time I could find exactly where on the ram any piece of wood was pressured. It would make an interesting exhibit in court if it ever came to that. I'd right off tell the officer about this signature in front of the thief. Ought to force an on the spot confession but maybe not.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

the funny thing is he was hiding in a small mountain lake community about 4 miles away. and couldn't believe how I found him. the truth is it was pure luck. on the way home I decided to take a quick detour and look for his truck, and Bingo there he was. he didn't seem to think he did anything wrong at first. I had to explain that when you take without asking, its called stealing!!!

You did make a mistake here. NEVER throw away a chance to mess with a thief's head. When they ask how you found them say you have video cameras set up everywhere and did a GPS tracking of his vehicles plates, or say someone followed him or...you get the idea. Make them leary of EVER coming near your place again and trust me, they WILL tell their buds.

We had a guy trespassing and destroying property with his truck. Met up with him and told him if he ever came around again he would not like the results. He then proceeded to lie that it wasn't him, someone took his truck and he just got it back. I then told him it was because when I looked through the scope of my 30-06 I saw him through the crosshairs. He turned a little white and this time it WAS true.

 

[chucker]

my neighbors sometimes help themselves with out asking! but then I rather expect them to for the simple reason there better than a watch dog! don't need to feed them or a vet! usually help me out by burning crooked forks big knots and such ... the double wheeled barrow is moved by what ever watch dog is having a simple evening fire! likeable friendly neighbors on all 3 sides... lol

 

[Marine5068]

That is why I don't allow pick up. I don;t want people on the property taking inventory and coming back to steal.

Scott

Ya, I don't like people casing my place either.
I have a driveway gate and a couple of big dogs and no one seems to want to come by unannounced. Funny eh?
"Knuckles" (my 120 lb. American Bulldog) and Annie (my 110 lb. Great Dane) do a good job of protecting the property and keeping the wife feeling safe when I'm not around.

 

[Oldmaple]

I have wood that goes to waste for the above reasons. Don't want people coming and going on my property. I've got kids and dogs and don't want them feeling like they have to police the place. Seems like once someone sets foot on your property they feel they can come and go at will.

 

[svk]

well if one wanted to do so you could drill a small hole in the log and add a little black powder and plug up the log. im not saying its a good idea but im not saying its a bad one either.

What if it burns some lady or kid who had no idea the bum was stealing wood.

I love the water/sugar gas trick for those who steal gasoline though. Solves the problem real quick.

 

[olyman]

Caught a guy dumping crap on my property and he started to give me a rash of sh*t then noticed my 9m on my hip and all of a sudden he was a real polite guy while we waited for the cops. Since then all we have to do is call the cops with a question and there is one in my driveway before I hang up the phone. Cost the bum $500 for dumping.
Yes, Virginia there is a Santa

 

[olyman]

Tonight I went to my friends property where I split and store wood.I noticed 3-4 truckloads missing.I know there are only 2 families on the property so I went looking around and I found the wood under a carport of one of the property owners.I calmed myself down and knocked on the door.lady answers and I had seen her many times before walking her horse when I was splitting wood and said to her "why did you take my firewood" she said you need to talk to my husband.i said please get him now.she said we are preparing for a party and are busy and this will have to wait for tomorrow.i told her I am not going anywhere until I speak with her husband.she said he'll be out after his shower and slammed the door.he came out a minute later completely dressed and obvoiously not showered and said there was a misunderstanding and he would like to pay for the wood.i said 600 bucks and he laughed and said he'll return it tomorrow.i said you need to pay for what you have used.i had know idea when he took it because I hadn't been on the property in a month.he offered 50 for what he used and he will return the rest by 1pm tomorrow.i said 100 and return it the rest by 1pm tomorrow. He then asked me if I have workers compensation and liability insurance for my wood business.i told him I don't sell wood.he said he'll check it out with the county.i said it better be back tomorrow afternoon or I will call the police..that is where I left it.well see. What happens.

just reading that,, comvinces me hes a big time crook,, and his old lady is in on it....workers compensation,, when hes standing completely ok in front of you.. yah, uh huh....then trying to bring the price down by bartering. your a better man than me, Charlie brown....

 

[El Quachito]

A wood thief is really low. People who snoop or go on land without a doorknock are about the same.

I'd be furious if my wood was stolen. Good work on getting your wood back you guys.

 

[cantoo]

Del, pretty well every piece of wood I split has a little piece of me on it. Initials on one splitter and weld beams all over other one. Easy to see my wood.

 

[ft. churchill]

Folks around here all seem to be scared of my red shepard and the two catahoulla leopard dogs that roam the property behind the fence. For some reason they are not inclined to find out if they are friendly.

 

[Fireman Bill]

Glad you took care of the situation. I had a van with 2-mexicans pull in my driveway one day a couple years ago. Lucky i was home and saw them pull up. I always conceal carry but retrieved my shotgun anyway. I kept my two well trained Rotties beside me and kept watching them. They backed up to my garage and both exited the rear of the van. They walked around to my walk in door and walked right in. I then ran out of the house with my dogs and shotgun in hand. Me and my dogs stood beside the van with my shotgun in the ready position and out they came with my router table and 12" Dewalt compound miter saw. The look on their face was priceless. I announced myself told them to put down the items and then i placed my dogs on point. They tried to say they spoke no english but i new better. I used my cell phone and called 911 and then walked them over to the roll up door to my garage and thats when i relized i should check the van for another person before i get shot. I looked in the rear of the van and its packed with tools and power equipment. I made them lay on the ground and as they where complying the smallest one got up and ran towards the van. My 1-rottie grabbed him by the ass just as i shot the left side tires out. He imediatly fell to the ground screaming no dog, no dog. 15 long minutes later the sheriffs deputy arrived and hand cuffed both guys. Then another deputy arrrived. After 20 or 30 minutes they told me these guys have been casing the area and where hitting houses that had larger garages. Thank god i was there. I was then told by the deputy's that i could be charged with misdemeanor discharge of a firearm and reckless handling of a firearm. They also advised me to lock up my dogs before one gets shot ( my dogs were both by my side) This is when i went nuts and told them to cuff me, read me my rightsand take me to jail. I did put my dogs back in the house for their safety abd I started recording with my iphone placed in my pocket, you could here the audio but not much of a picture. The two deputy's continued to drill me on not being a vigilante and let them do their job. Long story short i used to be a deputy in the same office but these two guys were young and full of themselves for sure. I live in a very rural country area and would have been cleaned out if i was not home. What would these guys had done if my door was locked, who knows...