Can I get arrested for stealing back my stolen cell phone?

Question

This weekend, my cell phone got stolen, along with cash and a bunch of credit cards(one was used for fraudulent purchases, but luckily I'm not liable). I'm hurt and upset, because it'd cost $200 to replace and my phone had all my phone numbers and meaningful photos on it. I have suspicion of who took my phone. I already filed a police report and had the service suspended.

My question is, what if I ran into the thief at a public place like say, a mall, and the thief had my phone? (my phone is VERY distinctive) And suppose I snatched it out of thief's hand, said "Thanks a lot, ******" and ran away with my stolen phone...would that be grounds for arrest?

Basically what I'm asking is -- can I get arrested for "stealing" back a stolen phone that is really mine?

Answer 1

For theft no. You can't steal your own property. Be ready to prove that the phone belongs to you because if you can't you could end up getting charged. Other than that you need to be careful. If you use any kind of force, even if your actions are perceived as force, you could end up facing other charges. If you reported it to the police, the best thing you can do is let them handle it.

Answer 2

Yes. Unfortunately, the criminals seem to get a free ride in this country these days. A man had his business broken into numerous times and was robbed numerous times. So, he wired his windows and doors and placed signs around the building but the jerk broke in again and was electrocuted. Guess who got arrested and prosecuted? It wasn't the criminal. It was the man who was protecting his property. I would suggest that you try to get your phone or surrepticiously hold onto the person while taking his picture and dialing 911 so you can have him/her arrested. Also, an identity thief stole a young man's I.D. and used it to open a savings account in his name. When the bank called the young man about some kind of irregularity, the young man decided to withdraw all the money. Remember the account was in his name and his identification was used fraudulently. Guess who got prosecuted? It certainly wasn't the identity thief who caused the young man to get turned down for a mortgage loan -- because the other guy had already bought a house in this young man's name. The innocent victim was charged with taking money that was not his and the identity thief -- who just happened to be Hispanic got off scott free and got all the money too boot. We live in a lawless country that is akin to the old wild wild west where rules don't apply to anyone except those who are willing to obey the law. It's no wonder the country is on the verge of a violent revolution. When liars, cheats and thieves have more rights than law-abiding citizens, we have real problems.

Answer 3

Circumstances can vary.

If my car got stolen ... it is "distinctive" because of where the rust spots are, the junk I have inside, although I recognize there must be thousands other similar ... in fact sometimes in parking lot I think I see my car in distance, but get close & recognize no this not mine.

There would be temptation to recover my car.
There would also be temptation to call the police and have them do the recovery.

I would be much more comfortable with the crooks in custody of police, and my property back in my possession, or going through police analysis first, as opposed to risking personal violence with the crook.

No personal possessions are worth risk to life or more medical expenses.

Loss of personal stuff to theft is extremely annoying, makes me angry. I know, I have been a victim of this. But violence can be far far worse. I do not want to risk bloody encounter with a crook.

Let's suppose one person steals your stuff, and passes it to another person, so the person you see with your cell phone is an "innocent" receiver of stolen merchandise & thinks you are the thief, and with other witnesses to your encounter, pursue and citizen's arrest you & hold you for police ... do you have proof that cell phone is really yours?

That would be mild inconvenience compared to you getting bullets put into you during the chase.

I don't have cell phone ... do they have serial #s not easy to counterfeit, falsify?

How did yours come to be distinctive? Did you modify it yourself, or is it just that yours is extra expensive model that not many people bought, but some people have, so you may not know for sure when you see someone with one that looks like yours to really be yours.

Answer 4

I don't see how you could get in trouble for taking your own property, however, If you KNOW that this person has it, I would want to have the authorities catch them with it. That way, the person gets in trouble for all of the other stuff that was stolen and you might get everything back instead of just the phone!
You would also need to prove it was yours. Good Luck!

Answer 5

The black letter law is that breaking and entering to recover your own property is not a crime. You may need to pay for damaged property though. However, you must ask yourself, it is worth the safety risk you are taking/ A phone should be easy to prove as to ownership since it has a serial number on it.

Answer 6

(1) Did she see her take the phone? (2) Could others have entered the locker? (3) Could she have lost the phone? (4) Would others testify to the theft or even possession of the phone? Isn't a cell phone useless without the PIN number?

Answer 7

Depends on how crowded the place, how strong the thief, how fast your action, and how Lucky you would be.
Yet, if you could well identify him for the police, it would help you also get back the rest of your stolen stuff.

Answer 8

I would think that, if you were absolutely sure that the phone was yours, and you were stealing it from the person who actually took it from you, that they would not want to report the "re-theft" because it might then get them in trouble for stealing the phone in the first place.

Answer 9

Just call the nearest security person or officer and they can stop the person and get the phone for you, especially if you did a report.

Answer 10

Yes! because you have first to prove its your phone, so you need the police to come and obtain it for investigation to see if your claims are true.