What, good citizens are suppose to be intimidated by degenerates, thugs, and criminals???
No wonder things are going to shit.
We need MORE people like the OP who stand up for themselves and definitively state that stealing property is not ok. Period.
wait.. how did it go from your neighbor saw something to bingo, the perp is there?
and why didnt the neighbor tell u she saw someone take your bike?
as for pressing charges... :thumbsup:
"Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding"
Just walk around visibly carrying to/from your car, etc. Word will get around and nobody will mess with your house.
we aren't talking about a 10 year old here. He's 17, definitely not a kid.
Had his mother not lied, maybe one would be slightly more inclined to agree to not press charged. But it's obvious that the kid is not going to be punished or taught correctly at home, definitely let the system take care of him. He steals a bike now and if not punished, in ten years he could be boosting cars.
ooooo..... maybe he'll be charged as an adult for the felony.
keep us posted.
heck, link the case.. shoul be public info
Time to move.
Typical american response, heartless, shoot first, ask question later, all over a worthless unlocked piece of junk.
Before pressing charges and possibly ruining this kid's life, here is what I would have done
Found out if the kid had prior troubles with the law and prosecute if he did.
If not I would have requested a few hours of manual labor as a restitution, mowing the lawn maybe or whatever I could think of. Maybe get to know the kid and be a good influence while I was at it.
The officer who took my report called to make sure we know for a fact that the bike went missing today because the mother is saying the bike in question has been "shared" with the local kids for the past few weeks. I say BS I know it went missing today. Later on, another cop comes back after a bit and says how the kids and family are outside and want to "apologize" and return the bike to me.
Had his mother not lied, maybe one would be slightly more inclined to agree to not press charged. But it's obvious that the kid is not going to be punished or taught correctly at home, definitely let the system take care of him. He steals a bike now and if not punished, in ten years he could be boosting cars.
This ^^^ Is exactly what is wrong with the world today. It is his fault and he should have let it slide? Really?
Had his mother not lied, maybe one would be slightly more inclined to agree to not press charged. But it's obvious that the kid is not going to be punished or taught correctly at home, definitely let the system take care of him. He steals a bike now and if not punished, in ten years he could be boosting cars.
I would be worried about future repercussions to my property, but I live in the UK where defending said property usually lands you in jail. If I was in the US and lived in a state with decent trespass laws I wouldn't give a shit and would shoot the kneecaps off anyone who stepped foot on my land.
I had a similar experience a few years ago, I had left my garage door open for awhile as a tropical storm approached and I was putting stuff in there so it wouldn't blow around. Next day I noticed my beach cruiser missing, someone had snuck in there while I was in the house. FF 2-3 weeks, I'm cruising through my neighborhood and lo and behold I see a teen on my bike!, all the idiot had to do was buy a $2 can of spray paint and I'd have never known, I swung the car around, stomped on it and pulled up right next to him and did a "street repo", the kid was terrified, claimed "someone gave it to me", after he handed over the bike he ran off on foot. I did call call the cops and gave a good description, there was no way at 50+ I'm gonna catch a wiry 17yr old, felt good to scare the crap out of him though LOL.
I would be worried about future repercussions to my property, but I live in the UK where defending said property usually lands you in jail. If I was in the US and lived in a state with decent trespass laws I wouldn't give a shit and would shoot the kneecaps off anyone who stepped foot on my land.
I would not condone taking the matter into your own hands. Kid could have easily had a gun or knife and had he stabbed/shot you could have claimed self defense since you were the aggressor. Just sayin'......
sounds gypsy.Burn them! I hate when parents blatantly lie to protect their perfect little angels. As far as I am concerned that makes the parents as much a criminal as the kid. We had a family like that in my neighborhood for a while. Never able to make anything stick even with eye witnesses because the parents would always swear he was home with them at the time the crime was committed and lacking any other evidence police could do nothing.