Looks like they caught my thief

[mechanic]

Don't know how long this link will work to our local paper.
 
http://www.lagrangenews.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Police+arrest+suspected+burglar-+suspect+alleged+to+have+sold+stolen+property%20&id=21482210&instance=top_stories
 
Ben

[bulletstuffer]

Hope you get all your stuff back!


Good luck,



Bulletstuffer

[YRUpunting?]

Do you know the guy?

[bucco921]

Ben, I hope this all works out for you. This is exactly why all the new proposed "stricter" gun control laws are so ridiculous. People like "C-Town" dont fill out background checks or follow the stupid laws that are already in place. People like you and I will be unable to obtain guns while "C-Town" breaks into our house while we are working to support our families and enjoy the hobbies we love and steals our LEGALLY purchased firearms. Again I hope you get everything back Ben. I apologize if this wasnt the appropriate place for my rant but after reading the newspaper write up I couldnt hold back. I hope you at least get your wifes family heirloom items back. Best of luck.

[Land_Owner]

Good!

Gotta scoff at this:

If you have purchased anything from James “C-Town” Smith, you are asked bring the items to the police department.

Really?  Even the threat of "charges" if LEO's FIND ANYTHING somewhere else.  Wow!  That ought to bring them running.  NOT!

Can't you just shoot him and get your sense of Security back?

Gotta admit though, you got lucky and some closure PDQ.

[mechanic]

Thanks Bucco,
 
I don't anticipate getting anything back now.  They can't find where he disposed of any of the loot,,,,claims he sold it and won't say where....if he even remembers.
 
I'll collect the insurance settlement and move on...with better security.
 
Ben

[Ranger99]

hate to say it, but you may want
to buy one of those big magnets
that have an eyebolt and some rope
and go "fishing" around any creeks or rivers
or lakes close to roadways in your area.
you may or may not be surprised at
what you find.

[Ranger99]

also glad to hear they actually
got the dirtbag.
surprise surprise

[Spanky]

Well there's a surprise...
So typical.
 
 
 
Spanky

[Ranger99]

what about the firearm he dropped
at another location?
did you get that back, or is it to be
sent to the twilight zone called the
property room, tagged and stored and
never to be seen again. . . .


" gollee sir. we're supposed to have it
here somewhere. . . . i dunno. . "

[hoytcanon]

How do you know he is your guy... did the police find him in possession of some of your property? Or was there other evidence linking him to your crime scene?

[petemi]

"Suspicion"....."Alleged"....It doesn't sound like they have very much to hold him on.  They don't mention recovering anything.

Pete

[mechanic]

They are not telling me much about evidence.  I know they recovered my pistol at another robbery...I've already got it back from evidence, and the lady at that robbery saw him...so maybe.  They're pinning 34 robberies on him so that seems a lot but if he was doing it at the frequency all along he was the week he hit my neighborhood it's feasible.
 
I almost forgot, more than one person saw him, he had two daylight strong arm robberies.
 
Ben

[petemi]

Perhaps Andy, MSP Ret, or other LEOs here can shed more light on it, but I believe eye witnesses are the easiest evidence to discredit in court.  Not meaning to sound pessimistic.

Pete

[redleg11b]

Eye witnesses are only discredited if the jury members don't believe them, or if they have crimes involving untruthfullness (theft, false reports, etc.).  A good eye witness is valuable, especially if they can pick the guy out of a properly done "lineup".  The problem will be linking him to the other burglaries without a trail of property, and it sounds like he knows that.  Their best bet is to hang what they can prove on him and seek max penalties.  In my book thieves and child molesters are on the same level.

[gendoc]

Hope you get yur stuff back ben, an i hope they
"HANG'UM HIGH"............

[PowPow]

If its like our burglary, he will be assigned a public defender who will make a deal for him to go to jail for a few years instead of several.
Then he will be sentenced and there will be a restitution hearing. Be sure to attend it.
The public defender will argue that all items were covered by insurance and restitution should be limited to the victim's deductible.
You can request to speak.
Say that the only reason you had insurance was to protect YOU from theft, not the thief. If the thief wants to enjoy protection of the insurance, then restitution should include the deductible and the premiums you have been paying for 30 years to protect YOU from this event, and the future increases in premiums the insurance company will charge that result from this event. Say that other victim's may feel that same. That should get them talking, instead of sitting there slack-jawwed at the public defender's gall.

[bigvarmnt]

It doesn't sound like they caught him "in possession" of any stolen property??
If they didn't catch him in some ones house, probably not a burglary charge.
Prosecutor will offer a plea deal if they have any evidence. Seems they'd rather not have a trial, easier, quicker, cheaper on all if he pleads. You will have to pay for his Public Defender   If he pleads he gets out sooner so he can get back to work
There is a web site that you can look up his record and follow the past outcomes. It is amazing some of the records/felonies they have and how some are dismissed or reduced and they are out on the streets again. Charles Bronson knew how to end the process
Glad they caught him


Looks like PowPow types faster than I do

[johnnybravoo77]

Good news!
If the investigation is ongoing, they certainly are not going to release everything they have on the guy, wont come out until court. A plea deal is the most likely outcome.

[Old Fart]

Like most cases we'll have to wait to see the outcome. My hope is that this closes your case so you can move on.

[Dinny]

Does he have any known residences? An address may be helpful. I learned some interrogation techniques recently that could help him remember where the stuff was left or sold.

JK, Dinny

[mo_bio]

Does he have any known residences? An address may be helpful. I learned some interrogation techniques recently that could help him remember where the stuff was left or sold.

JK, Dinny

NICE 

[spruce]

Glad they caught him!
 
Usually in cases like this they'll prosecute him on a few crimes where they have good evidence and he'll be offered a plea deal to save the State the cost of going to trial.
 
Most times the majority of stolen property is not recovered, at least not right away.  Probably a majority of the guns with serial numbers will eventually show up when some other dufus uses them in another crime, but that may be years down the road.

[blind ear]

Regardless of how this turns out you will know who it is when it is over. ear

[mcbammer]

Hope  he s  not  a  juvenile.   Whole  different  set  of  rules  for  them.

[frgerald]

I spent 20 years in LE at city, state, and federal levels and can tell you that it isn't the fault of the authorities that so many cases are plea-bargained.  The backlog in most courts, at least here in Texas, is so heavy that the only way some will ever serve time IS to plea to one or two offenses.  If they wait, it can take years, meanwhile the thief is out on bond "doing his thing" while he waits.  With this bum being a suspect in so many burglaries, there should be a thorough investigation re his involvement.  I can tell you from experience that it will be a real feather in the cap of the investigator  the more of these burglaries he can clear with this one arrest!!  No investigator or DA worth the title is going to release very many details to any newspaper as they are notorious for mis-representing things. (i.e. CNN, MSNBC, ABC, etc.)  The fact he was caught so soon indicates a pretty good response on the part of the PD.  Just my 2cents worth....for what it's worth.  When he is given the opportunity to plea-bargain, he might suddenly "remember" where the weapons are?  I surely hope so.   

[SHOOTALL]

They are not telling me much about evidence.  I know they recovered my pistol at another robbery...I've already got it back from evidence, and the lady at that robbery saw him...so maybe.  They're pinning 34 robberies on him so that seems a lot but if he was doing it at the frequency all along he was the week he hit my neighborhood it's feasible.
 
I almost forgot, more than one person saw him, he had two daylight strong arm robberies.
 
Ben

so have they hung him yet ?

[mechanic]

The detectives I've talked to seem well experienced, so hopefully they have the right guy and can put him away for a while.
 
I've already agreed with the insurance settlement, so if the property turns up later it belongs to them, other than some of the wife's rings which I would be given opportunity to buy back.
 
In the meantime, I'm working on security.  Alarm, and better dead bolts that will anchor into steel rather than a wood jamb, and another safe.  I was really lucky.  He passed up a lot of valuables that would not be replaceable.
 
Meanwhile, I've got Sweet Thang to brush up on her pistol skills.  It scares me when I'm away working and she is here alone....we've had some home invasion type robberies around us as well.  For now she is taking it seriously enough to keep the doors locked even when home, and she now understands why I "hide" guns around the house.
 
She is also, (hopefully), keeping her hand in her purse on her pistol as she goes to and from the parking area, (dark) at work.  Thats about all I can do, other than move on.
 
Ben

[casca1]

FYI
if you stick a file in someones mouth and drag it across a few times you won't believe what comes out of their mouths .
casca