One of my buddies in college got his truck broken into in the parking lot of a coffee shop we used to hang out at.
They didn’t take a CD player or CDs or anything. They took his very full backpack. It didn’t have any money in it (he had his wallet in the coffee shop with him) or college textbooks that could fetch a decent price at the used bookstores. Instead, it had personal reading material, some clothes, and an ounce of weed.
Fucking thief hit the jackpot that night.
I feel for ya (and make a mental note to never piss ya off in person. It would be entertaining, but I’d still end up just as dead.)
Move back to Los Angeles? The town I was born and raised in? Where I lived for decades in the fantastically divey South Central and in K-Town, and have never had my car broken into, but then came to Minne-fucking-sota and had some crack smoking bastard smash my window so that he could sneer at my Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra CDs, but but then tear apart my radio so that he could fence it for spare change? Maybe I will move back to LA. Weather’s nicer.
I hope this guy dies too.
Everyone was standing outside my doctors office this morning - too hot to go in. Someone stole the AC unit. Or actually just the fucking copper from it.
Hmmm, have you checked the bottom of that CD to see if they left any fingerprints while taking it out? Never know, he might have been stupid enough to not wear gloves.
My car windows were broken out twice, but the first time they stole what I can only assume was what they thought was a faceplate radio. It wasn’t. So they ripped the front of my radio off. Excellent.
That pales to the time a bunch of kids went down the backlane smashing out car windows. Every car lost three or more windows. Nothing stolen, just smashy-smashy.
I’m guessing you have The Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol 1, huh? Man, I hate the Eagles.
indeed. We need more like you. LA is getting top-heavy with vapid blondes aspiring to be Kristen Bell but only achieving Paris Hilton knockoff level.
Seriously, you think they’re going to print a CD? She’ll be lucky if the police actually take a report that is more than three or four sentences. As irritating as it is, it’s petty theft, and unless someone witnessed the theft in process, it wouldn’t even be worth the prosecutor’s time.
Stranger
Well, excuse me. I didn’t come into this thread with any particular thoughts other than the facts that 1) a crime was committed 2) fingerprints may be useful in finding out who was responsible 3) the reflective undersides of CDs are easily smudged with fingerprints. Not ever having owned a car that could have been broken into and therefore having no experience with a situation like this, I guess I didn’t know that not every auto break-in was thoroughly investigated. I apologize for offering a suggestion.
Sheesh, some people…
One lovely evening, after a nice supper at Olive Garden with a group of friends, we all headed for the local movie theater before planning to meet up elsewhere for a late evening playing poker.
During the movie, someone smashed the windows of a half-dozen cars at the theater, swiping car stereos along with other random stuff. Their haul from my car was particularly amusing:
1 car stereo
20 CDs
A small cooler containing a 6-pack of cheap lite beer
and…
my leftover dinner from Olive Garden!
Once, when I was in preschool, my mom stopped by the mall on her way to bring cupcakes to my class for snacktime. Yep, some creep bashed the window and stole the cupcakes. Mom just laughed and said the thief must have really had a sweet tooth to want 2 dozen cupcakes, but she moaned about the loss of her favorite tray the cupcakes were on for years.
Well, I’m kind of with him on this one. The reality is I wasn’t there when it happened, have no idea when it happened, have zero idea who could have done it, and the bad guys have long since gotten away. Unless there’s some guy I can clearly point to, I don’t see them bothering. The cops aren’t going to launch a full-on investigation, dusting for prints, over a broken back window. Even if I had a guy, he’d probably end up being a charged a fine he’ll never bother to pay, or be sentenced to pick up trash. None of this is good enough as death by fire and water-boarding.
Actually, I’ve calmed down a lot since this morning. Twelve hours ago, I was mad enough to strangle. Currently, I’m only mad enough to give a stern talking to. Hopefully by the time I have to get the damn window fixed, I’ll be irritated that I have to bother with this shit, but people will be safe. The dumb bastard is still a horrible fucker who deserves whatever horrible life he is forced to ensure, but perhaps enough time and gin are between then and this moment that I’m not killy…
…for now.
I feel your pain, MeanOldLady. My car got busted into and the thief ruined the dashboard trying to pry the stereo out with a crowbar. He gave up on the stereo, stole the speakers off the rear deck, and what really really pissed me off more than anything else, stole the half pack of Camel Lights I’d left on the seat. If it had been in my power, I would have tortured the person who did it. Really. Literally.
Cops? Investigation? They wouldn’t even come look at it – just gave me a case number and said to call them if I had any more information.
I’m really disappointed that this was the only joke made about the thread’s title. If MOL would have been reading this thread instead of writing (and living) it, I bet she woulda come up with an even better one.
Damn you, thieves! You stole MeanOldLady’s sense of humor too!!
I know just how you feel. My car was broken into 3 times in a year! The first time a window was broken and they stole POS stereo, the second time another window was broken and they totally fucked up my steering column TRYING to hotwire it, but failing, and the third time they broke a window and stole my CDs, most of which were just burnt anyway.
I just fucking hate these stupid punk kids who do this shit. Now, nobody should steal anybody’s shit, obviously, but especially don’t cause $300+ of damage to someone who clearly doesn’t have money to spare (in my case anyway, based on where I lived and my car, complete with carseat so you know you’re fucking up the life of a struggling parent), in order to gain like $2 for yourself!
I look forward to the day when I get a job in my field, which is probation. I’m about the most understanding, enlightened person you can find regarding criminality, but we all have our limits.
That’s what really burned my husband up when someone broke into his car. Well, that and the fact that the cops didn’t even bother to tell us that nobody would be coming out to even look at the car.
It’s a pity that restitution isn’t made part of the sentence for most crimes.
Some years ago a punk tried to steal my car. He busted the window, then tore up the steering column trying to hot-wire the car, but failed. Obviously pissed off, he trashed the car - broke every knob in site, slashed every seat with a knife, slit the dashboard, etc. He was caught later that night trying to steal another vehicle. The police called me down to the station and actually gave me his name & address. I had the option of pressing charges or making him pay for the damage in cash ($1600). I made him pay.
So, MeanOldLady…you have to tell us which CD was left on the seat!
mmm
Was it Duran Duran?
Haven’t they taken enough from me?!
I’m saying! I can see someone thinking (and this is obviously still wrong) “Hey this is a Mercedes, so I’m going to steal the diamonds in the glove box, and they’ll be fine.” Okay, what the fuck of value did you think was in my late 90s Nissan-goddamn-Altima? And what was so appealing about my car? I just took a quick glance out the window, and all the cars outside, save for a few exceptions are mid-range sedans. There are a bunch of Camrys, a Jetta, some Civics, one shiny BMW that is somehow impervious to crow shit, and a really old Ford Escort. Bastard.
I would have requested that his crotch be lit on fire.
Ha! No, but I’m not ashamed to admit I have a Duran Duran live album… because Duran Duran is the kind of band you simply must hear in concert! It was Sam Cooke anthology.
They broke the back window out for spare change and a 7 dollar radio? That had to be one desperate person. In the old days they took the car but I guess it is harder to steal newer cars. Saab has always had lousy stereos that won’t work once removed without a code.
I have had tokens and change stolen before but if they want my crummy cd player good luck to them. If they want to try and hot wire a Saab again good luck to them. Nothing in one is normal.
It isn’t even worth an insurance claim if the rear window costs less then your deductible. See if your mechanic can put in a used one and save you some money.
I’ll say it once again since people don’t read threads - you need a police report to get your stereo replaced if you bought it at a place that has that policy (FutureShop is one that does) (or make an insurance claim, like Perciful says). I didn’t bother getting a police report when mine was stolen because I didn’t know about that policy and I was sure that there would be no point to it. I will in the future. We don’t have glass insurance on either of our cars here because of the City of Calgary’s policy of using gravel for road traction in winter - we all just drive with cracked windshields here. I wish I was kidding.
Heh, well I’m sure it cost more than $7, but a POS no-name-brand stolen radio can’t be fenced for anything more than tiny, crummy little crack rock. I don’t even know where the stereo came from. The car had it when I bought it (used), and my insurance co is not going to reimburse me, so this really is just an unfortunate pain in my ass.
I’ve calmed down a lot since yesterday, when I was mad enough to stab, but I still am irritated as shit when I have to look at this.
