Recovering from being burglarized

[Robert Haas]

burglarized by a former employee and his crack head, white supremest buddies.

They by-passed the alarm system and then spent the next 10 hours unloading my shop. They got everything. 40 years of accumulation that included every hand tool my father left me. (He was a master mechanic for 50 years) They cleaned out all the power tools, my welders, my plasma cutters, the works.

Insurance is a pain in the back side and want receipts, ...receipts? how the heck do you come up with receipts for items you have owned for decades? Not to mention how do I place a value on the stuff they do not even make anymore?

Couple that with me trying to just remember what was in the shop at the time they broke in. I had 6 double decker tool cabs that were stuffed to the breaking point, I had 3 benches covered with equipment, I had a 20 x 12 tool room that was packed floor to ceiling with power tools.

To add insult to injury they used my rolling carts to haul the drawers out of all the boxes, they left the boxes but loaded the drawers into my company van, (They stole that as well) so all the cabs are standing back there with no drawers in them. It is a very depressing site.


This all happened 7 weeks ago, the police are worthless and have not recovered a damn thing, I told them who did it so they finally did arrest my former employee and he is sitting in jail awaiting trial. He won't give up his accomplices so they are still on the street.

I am starting the arduous task of replacement and it is a daunting task. I bought a big box and placed the first of many orders with my SO dealer, he sure as heck is having a good month after that first order.


So my advise to all of you folks is to walk out into your shop and take a picture of every single thing you own that is worth more the ten bucks, then put these photos in a safe deposit box, every other month, take pictures of the new stuff that came in. Trust me on this, it is the only way you and your insurance company is ever going to be able to have a meeting of the minds so to speak.

 

[hilld]

Sorry to hear that, but the police don't really have a vested interest in finding your stuff. Even though you pay them via your taxes, they could care less. It might be worth while looking for a private investigator that has the time to check craigslist, ebay, pawnshops and other types of informants that might be able to point you to the other robbers and possibly some of your tools.

Good luck with everything, and hopefully the theft is not putting you out of business.

Derek

 

[chief ben]

Where do you live ?? I live in Arkansas, Sorry to hear about your bad luck. When the guy gets out of Jail,
And he Will. Tell him to come down here and Steal from me

 

[drmoonshine]

As much as it pains me to say this really the police can't do very much. On the bright side since as you put they are crack heads they will probably get caught in another theft and that's when you get you stuff recovered. PI might not be a bad idea look into that and start making a list of your tools.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

This all happened 7 weeks ago, the police are worthless and have not recovered a damn thing, I told them who did it so they finally did arrest my former employee and he is sitting in jail awaiting trial. He won't give up his accomplices so they are still on the street.

So my advise to all of you folks is to walk out into your shop and take a picture of every single thing you own that is worth more the ten bucks, then put these photos in a safe deposit box, every other month, take pictures of the new stuff that came in. Trust me on this, it is the only way you and your insurance company is ever going to be able to have a meeting of the minds so to speak.

First off, I'm very sorry for your loss. But I don't really see why you are calling the police "worthless." Do you think that they have the manpower to look at every burglary under a microscope? I believe they should beat the **** out of the burglar to find your stuff and the other perp(s), but they are not allowed to do this. You did not do everthing to protect yourself, and you share in part of the blame. You should have had better records, and maybe a guard dog or two. Also if it were my stuff, I would be check CL and pawnshops for my stuff. The police are human, they are not magicians.

 

[c_mccann]

*****, I am terrible sorry for your theft. I suffered the same deal, not nearly as bad, it was done by the crew building my home. I had to sell the home to rid myself of the jitters it caused. My thieves took cordless sawzalls and cut the roof off my garage and dropped in. They took a bunch of stuff, including a 6 ton AC unit with the R12 in it- literally walked out with it. Cops were worthless, blamed me for not having enough locks on the garage door. Couldn't claim on insurance as they would cancel me in the middle of my home remodel and I would be left without liability insurance. All my stuff could be replaced, but it takes time. Hope you kill them.

 

[jhelrey]

Let me put it this way as an ex police officer.

Just because you know who did it doesn't mean we can go and just arrest them. We need proof beyond a reasonable doubt. There are stupid people though that will let you search their home if you ask them just to try and find something to secure a search warrant.

Finding the items is almost impossible. It's called Ebay, Craigslist, Black Market, etc.


I know the guys at the shop I work at always lock their boxes as do I. At least they would have to steal the entire box vs. emptying every drawer. A box isn't easy to hide nor transport.

 

[haugy]

You did not do everthing to protect yourself, and you share in part of the blame.

You officially get the dumbest comment of the year award for this one.

That is beyond stupid. I can't even begin to explain how stupid it is. And the fact that you made it, means no matter what I do, you will still no grasp it.

A theft is never the owners fault. Even if a guy leaves the keys in a mercedes in the ghetto with the windows down, the person who stole it is at fault. They are taking something that doesn't belong to them. Doesn't make a difference if it's easy or not.

And the guy had an alarm. I would beg to say less people here even have that. So the guy just suffered an imeasureable loss of property and heritage, and you have the gall to tell him, "it's his fault".



To the OP, I'm sorry to hear about this. I've had property stolen/vandalized and many items were irreplaceable pieces that meant alot to me. It takes time, but just focus on moving on. If you wish to pursue tracking them down, you have some work ahead of you, but it can be done. Good luck.

 

[LAROKE]

A theft is never the owners fault. Even if a guy leaves the keys in a mercedes in the ghetto with the windows down, the person who stole it is at fault. They are taking something that doesn't belong to them. Doesn't make a difference if it's easy or not.

Emphatically Agreed!!!

 

[James E]

The poster who said you are partly responsible is out of line. You certainly could have been better prepared for a theft or a fire, but to say you are partly to blame is insensitive at the least. Unless you left your shop doors open all the time and bragged to everybody about how much stuff you had, I don't see how this is in any way your fault.

That being said, your situation can serve a positive purpose as a warning to others that we should all take some time to document our stuff so that if and when it gets stolen or burned up, we can prove we had it.

I have often thought about this but haven't done anything about it. My family has accumulated alot of stuff, some of it valuable (most of it not), that we would need verification for if we were to claim it on our insurance.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

In my garage about 15 years back, someone stole my S&W 9mm out of my desk. Long story short, I call the PD, and about a week later a detective calls me and tells me he has my pistol !!! I would have bet a grand I would never see it again. When I was interviewed, I told the detective " I know I will never see it again, I just don't want it turning up in the use of a crime and you guys come looking for me " He took offense to that statement, which caught me off guard... He was offended that I automatically assumed they could not "do their job" so to speak (find the gun). So I backed off and was like "whatever".

Turned out one of my techs was running short on drinking money, lifted my gun, and sold it at the tavern where he hung out at. A patron of said bar was a "gun broker" of sorts, and the detective somehow figured that all out. Anyhow, the guy who worked for me, got arrested and prosecuted.

I ran into the guy about 2 years ago, and he walked up to me and apologized for stealing my gun. I didn't know how to react to that...

So sometimes your stuff can come back. I also had my shop hit by some kids down the street. Fortunately I was young and just started a shop and didn't have much to steal. I recovered my 2 Honda ATVs myself, beat one kid till he pissed and pooped his pants, I wound up in court for doing that, and his accomplice returned the other ATV the next night, found it sitting right in front of the shop door. After I got done beating the snot out of the one kid (I found him riding the ATV), I told him I was coming for his buddy, it was an idle threat, that much to my surprise provided results.

I never saw my tool box/tools, or chain saw again. I got tipped off as to who stole my stuff, when the kid tried peddling my tool box to my next door business neighbor, who recognized my box and called me. He was a mechanic/shop owner too...

 

[TAMPAGT07]

You officially get the dumbest comment of the year award for this one.

That is beyond stupid. I can't even begin to explain how stupid it is. And the fact that you made it, means no matter what I do, you will still no grasp it.

A theft is never the owners fault. Even if a guy leaves the keys in a mercedes in the ghetto with the windows down, the person who stole it is at fault. They are taking something that doesn't belong to them. Doesn't make a difference if it's easy or not.

And the guy had an alarm. I would beg to say less people here even have that. So the guy just suffered an imeasureable loss of property and heritage, and you have the gall to tell him, "it's his fault".

Thank you. First off, this is a screwed up world we live in and you need to take steps in protecting yourself. Secondly, I never stated "it was his fault." I stated he didn't do everything to protect his business, and he is partly to blame. I, for example, will not stop at an ATM at two oclock in the morning. Should I be able to? Of course I should, but I don't to protect myself. If someone broke into my home, I obviously didn't do all that I could have to protect my assets.

 

[Professur]

*****, to be sure ... but I have to ask .... Don't you now wish you'd left the cops outta the loop and taken a few buddies to go see the crackhead and get your stuff back?

 

[TAMPAGT07]

*****, to be sure ... but I have to ask .... Don't you now wish you'd left the cops outta the loop and taken a few buddies to go see the crackhead and get your stuff back?

I totally agree...Beat the snot out of the ******* till he tells you where the stuff is and who helped.

 

[Robert Haas]

I stated he didn't do everything to protect his business, and he is partly to blame. .

Exactly what would I do?

I have steel security roll down doors over every opening

I have a state of the art burglar alarm that is wired into the local police department.

I have a closed loop video system that was also disabled.

I pay a fortune for insurance.


other then having an on site security guard or other lethal protection,.. what exactly could I do?


I posted this not looking for sympathy, but to illustrate that everyone should document every single thing they own and keep said documentation in order and off site.


Your other comment about leaving the police out of it and taking the law into my own hands is equally ignorant. I am a victim, I am not going to become a criminal.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Exactly what would I do?

Your other comment about leaving the police out of it and taking the law into my own hands is equally ignorant. I am a victim, I am not going to become a criminal.

Actually that was the Professors statement, I just agreed with it.

Do you have a a fenced in perimeter fence with heavy duty locks and Razor wire (if allowed)? A guard dog(s). Also I would recommend an alarm that is self powered with a wireless transmitter?

I am really sorry for your loss, and I didn't mean to set you and other members off. I should have picked my words better.

I also believe that this country and others will get alot worse.

 

[haugy]

I posted this not looking for sympathy, but to illustrate that everyone should document every single thing they own and keep said documentation in order and off sitel.

And for that reminder, I thank you. I'm at the point where I'll be stockpiling my shop now that I've got it the way I want. I will be sure to document the heck out of everything and put it in my special safe.

 

[LAROKE]

Thank you. First off, this is a screwed up world we live in and you need to take steps in protecting yourself. Secondly, I never stated "it was his fault." I stated he didn't do everything to protect his business, and he is partly to blame. I, for example, will not stop at an ATM at two oclock in the morning. Should I be able to? Of course I should, but I don't to protect myself. If someone broke into my home, I obviously didn't do all that I could have to protect my assets.

Definition of "blame" - to find fault.

No need to thank me for what your teachers didn't do.

 

[Robert Haas]

Do you have a a fenced in perimeter fence with heavy duty locks and Razor wire (if allowed)? A guard dog(s). .

This is a Business, not a penitentiary. It is located in town surrounded by other businesses.

So razor wire and fences ain't possible and guard dogs,.. are you friggen serious?

 

[Junkman]

In 1973 when I closed my shop and moved away, I wasn't able to take my tools with me. Someone broke into the shop and the only tool that they stole was my floor jack. Don't know if they were interrupted or just wanted that one item. About 7 or 8 years later, I got a call from one of my old friends that said he had recovered my floor jack. I asked him where he found it, and the told me that it was in another shop in town. He recognized it because he had painted it with as a joke one day while painting a car. I asked him if there was any evidence of my 1969 Z28 in that shop. That also disappeared from the shop, but I don't know if the two were connected.. The car has yet to surface, and I believe now that it was cut up for parts and the drive line sold to some hot rodder.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

This is a Business, not a penitentiary. It is located in town surrounded by other businesses.

So razor wire and fences ain't possible and guard dogs,.. are you friggen serious?

Ok, if you feel that you did everything to protect yourself that's all that matters. I'm not familiar with where you are at, I was just trying to give you suggestions. I just know that alot of business's where I have lived (NY and Tampa) have had luck with fencing and guard dogs. If they are not allowed in your area then I guess there is nothing you could have done differently.

How did they deactivate the alarm?

 

[Robert Haas]

Ok, if you feel that you did everything to protect yourself that's all that matters. I'm not familiar with where you are at, I was just trying to give you suggestions. I just know that alot of business's where I have lived (NY and Tampa) have had luck with fencing and guard dogs. If they are not allowed in your area then I guess there is nothing you could have done differently.

How did they deactivate the alarm?

Breached and disabled before it could notify outside the system. Was told by the police that it is a common technique.


Driving up to your own business at 7:00 am in the morning, seeing the roll up door is up, one of your trucks is gone and realizing what has happened.


I have never been gut shot but I think I know what it would feel like

 

[Steve from Socal]

The sad reality is no security system is perfect. I do think that these people are far from amateur crack head petty thieves. That the police showed little interest in this is somewhat shocking, this was very likely not their first commercial burglary.

As far as documentation; pictures and inventory lists with receipts if available, kept in another location are perhaps best. Without some tangible proof of the tools and equipment you are in for some serious negotiation with the insurance company. Any information you can provide will be helpful and perhaps signed statements from some vendors and employees. Try to find any pictures that may exist of the shop before the break in. If you pay any business taxes on equipment use that information as well. You want to compile as much of a data base to support the value of your loss. Remember to include any and all taxes, shipping and repair cost (to the security systems and building)after the break in.

I wish you the very best in settling with your insurance and hope the people responsible get what they deserve.

Steve

 

[Professur]

Your other comment about leaving the police out of it and taking the law into my own hands is equally ignorant. I am a victim, I am not going to become a criminal.

Correct. You are a victim, and will remain one. I didn't say for you to become a criminal. I'm saying tho, that your crackhead friend might have been much more cooperative outside of the protective custody he now enjoys. And don't think for a moment he's not enjoying it. It's been my experience that the moment you say you're insured, the police consider the case a victimless crime and move on to other things. Recovering your stuff isn't all that important to them.

 

[Robert Haas]

Total claimed loss on this single crime was over $150,000.00

But no one was shot, so it is just a property crime as far as the police department is concerned. They won't even assign a detective to it.


I live in a a medium size town in California with a very serious gang problem, we have had over 25 homicides this year alone, the police are up against it.

I feel that these large commercial burglaries are bankrolling the gangs and should be looked at in that regard.

Of course I am just a bitching victim and the PD have plenty of us to deal with.

 

[Robert Haas]

Correct. You are a victim, and will remain one. I didn't say for you to become a criminal. I'm saying tho, that your crackhead friend.

He is an ex-employee, he was never a friend and was terminated for cause 2 weeks before the burglary.


This ain't TV, I am not Charles Bronson and the last time I checked, victims of crimes should not be forced to become criminals, not in this country.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Total claimed loss on this single crime was over $150,000.00

Holy cow.

Years ago, I let a "Friend" move in and he stole some cash from me. Thank God he also brought his stuff with him so I was able to sell it and get all my money back. I had a talk with him and he still denied stealing my money. I sent him on his merry way and to this day, 20 years later have not spoken to him once. I don't even know if he still alive.

I don't believe this ecomomy is going to get better. I know I have been thinking up ways to secure my home, if things get any worse. Good luck with getting your stuff back and keep checking CL and pawn shops.

 

[haugy]

But we can learn from this.........


Me I plan on digging a big moat around the shop. Then I'm going to chain a fire breathing dragon to the front of the shop. To get to the door you will have to walk through a pit of King Cobras.

Once you get inside you will have to fight my shop ninjas!!! Oh yes, they do exist. My force of shop ninjas are so swift and efficient, they will have one's head on a pole in a matter of seconds. If for some reason a ninja thief comes in and beats my ninjas, I can rely on my land mines to activate once the drawers to my tool box are open. If they see the landmines then my last effort will be the Thermonuclear warhead attached to the garage door. Once they open that sucker up, it's bye-bye time.........


Unless they are cockroaches, so I will need to get some roach motels too.

 

[meissen]

I live in a a medium size town in California with a very serious gang problem, we have had over 25 homicides this year alone, the police are up against it.

Sounds like one week in Detroit.

Sorry to hear about your loss - my dad had the same problem with the insurance company when someone stole his loaded toolbox out of our garage. They gave him such a hard time that he got the "F you" attitude and submitted professional craftsman series tools instead of submitting dollar store model #s.

 

[Professur]

This ain't TV, I am not Charles Bronson and the last time I checked, victims of crimes should not be forced to become criminals, not in this country.

I totally agree. My daughter 'should' be perfectly safe walking the dog after dark too. Should doesn't make it so. The law in both your country and mine is slanted to protect the criminal. You don't have to become a criminal, but you do need to act for yourself. Police number maybe 1/100th of any local population, and they're effectively powerless at crime prevention because criminals don't fear them.

Do you really believe that it would take 'criminal' activity on your part to recover your goods?

 

[TAMPAGT07]

What really pisses me off about stuff like this, is that the scumbag beat you out of $150,000. Then he goes to prison, let's say for two years, at a cost of $25,000 a year. So now the ******* beat the victim and the taxpayer out of $200,000. Then he and liberals, say he paid his dept to society by serving the 2 years. Bull$hit....He still should owe $200,000. Make him sell his friggin body organs till his debt is paid. Of course, this was not his first burglary, so he really owes probably well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Here's a real sad story from a small city just east of Tampa, which just happened today:

http://www.baynews9.com/article/new...attacked,-killed-by-suspects-in-Pinellas-Park

 

[TAMPAGT07]

I totally agree. My daughter 'should' be perfectly safe walking the dog after dark too. Should doesn't make it so. The law in both your country and mine is slanted to protect the criminal. You don't have to become a criminal, but you do need to act for yourself. Police number maybe 1/100th of any local population, and they're effectively powerless at crime prevention because criminals don't fear them.

Do you really believe that it would take 'criminal' activity on your part to recover your goods?

I tell you what, thigs are getting so bad here in Tampa, I always have my .380 keltec and/or my glock .45, and my AR-15 in my trunk to get me out of a bad situation. All of my guns are legal and I am licensed to cary them. (Better to be judged by 12, then carried by 6.)

 

[Striker]

How did he defeat the security system exactly? I'm sure others are interested too as they might want to correct any potential security deficiencies.

 

[Rosco]

Where do you live ?? I live in Arkansas, Sorry to hear about your bad luck. When the guy gets out of Jail,
And he Will. Tell him to come down here and Steal from me

beautiful dog and damn good watch dogs........just a little advice. My buddy had 2 of the meanest dobermans guarding his wrecking yard at night. Came to work and found he was completely cleaned out. Empty steak and ground hamburger wrappers all over the floor. Dogs ate good, thief got everything.

 

[holland_patrick]

http://www.frontpointsecurity.com/h...systems#ooid=sybzBsMTo8QiWGsZ3Hd5XNc9SainlYQx


It's easier than you think to defeat most home alarm systems. All you really need is:

Pliers or wire cutters
Baseball bat

Either one can prevent most alarm systems from ever sending an alarm signal out to the monitoring center.

In this short 1 minute video, learn why cellular alarm systems are safer!

 

[rugerlady]

Sounds like one week in Detroit.
.

Detroit?? How about Chesterfield Twp?? We live in a nice neighborhood, been hit 2 times, with multiple other attempts. Have the place alarmed really well now. I can't lock my car doors, if I do they break the window. So once every month or two I wake up to find my car has been gone through, and any spare change in the car is gone,.

I feel for your loss and can sympathize!

 

[leftyz]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, obviously hindsight is 20/20, there are things you could have done to better protect your shop, and to better prepare for this disaster. It's best not to dwell on the past but to learn from it.

Do background checks on all potential employees, it might cost a few bucks but it could save you from something like this.

Set up a fail safe burglar alarm that is not known by anyone but you. A seperate control panel hidden in your shop office with a longer alarm delay could do the trick, never let anyone open the shop but you.

Dogs are good but employee's are generally trusted by dogs so they wouldn't do much in this situation.

CCTV systems are pretty worthless if the burglar has any possible way to get to the recording device. Had a crook steal our entire security system including the hard drive once.

Locking tool boxes nightly with primary and secondary locks will slow a thief down, but if they have access to your plasma torch, what good does it really do? Get a job box for your equipment so it can't aid the crooks.

Lock EVERYTHING, EVERY TIME.

As far as searching for your equipment, use craigslist searching sites like
www.craiglook.com
www.searchtempest.com

Search on:
www.ebay.com
www.backpage.com
www.oodle.com
www.kijiji.com (aka ebay classifieds)

Search local forum sites, lots of them have decent sized classified sections

I know, it's been 7 months, but they still may be selling items slowly just to keep the money coming in.

Good luck, and I hope you do find some more of the crooks. I wish they'd start chopping off hands of crooks here like they do in some other countries. Maybe people would be less likely to steal if there were some actual sort of consequences.

 

[cre73]

I will add a little to this. A very good friend of mines family shop was broke into and had about 10K worth of equipment stolen. The worst thing for them was everything ended up being prorated from the insurance company. A $1000 plasma cutter the insurance gave them $400 for it and everything else was out of pocket. I immediatly called my insurance company and got it spelled out that everything was "replacement cost". My only concern is in the event of a major occurence is the initial out of pocket expense and waiting for the reimbursement.

 

[leftyz]

I will add a little to this. A very good friend of mines family shop was broke into and had about 10K worth of equipment stolen. The worst thing for them was everything ended up being prorated from the insurance company. A $1000 plasma cutter the insurance gave them $400 for it and everything else was out of pocket. I immediatly called my insurance company and got it spelled out that everything was "replacement cost". My only concern is in the event of a major occurence is the initial out of pocket expense and waiting for the reimbursement.

That is a good point, I used to sell homeowners insurance and we always suggested people add "replacement cost" to their policy, it should be a standard if you ask me.