How do i catch this thief?

Question

I had a bag filled with very valuable stuff to me (no, not drugs), and like the idiot i am, i sat it on my back porch and accidently left it there. the next morning i realized it and it was gone. then the thief tried to sell the stuff on a website and i can tell it was my stuff because my stuff was marked and it had the same marks. he has pics of the stolen stuff on his bed so i know what his bedsheets look like. i also have his email address and i filed a report to the cops but they're lazy and wont help me so is there anything i can do to catch them, or did they get away with the crime?

the stuff altogether was a little more than $1000

Answer 1

Ive had sort of the same thing happen to me. Also Im in the process of getting my criminal justice degree so I kind of know a little about the subject. I'll be honest, the cops are going to do very little for two reasons: unless you have proof (receipts, serial numbers) for the things that were stolen, there is no way to really prove that they are yours or that you didnt just give the stuff to him. Also, stolen goods under $1000 go into a category that the police call "low priority" which means that they really wont do anything about it because they have bigger problems to deal with. Like I said, Ive been in your position before and it sucks.

Answer 2

Yes. Private detectives will usually do more than the police....because you pay them (of course). Im not sure how valuable these things are to you. A private detective can be costly. If I were you I would try to contact someone that has purchased from him...maybe someone who left feedback. Ask them to tell the police NOT you who sold it to them...let them know that they wont get in trouble though because they might get scared. Or what you could do is purchase something yourself, make out a check to them for it, this way you can trace the check (or money order). You probably wont like having to pay for something that was stolen from you. Then you would have to decide if the price is worth the benefit though. I hope you get your stuff back. My husband was robbed last year and after beating him almost to death with guns, they used the cell phone they stole from him to call my kids and tell them their dad was going to die. They probably started out doing petty chit like this focker did to you. Good luck! Let us know how it goes, ok?