Were the objects in question actually his ?
..Doesn't matter, Joe civilian doesn't launch an armed "sting operation" ! .. More likely, IF the items did formerly belong to him and he appealed to the police for help,
Those items would soon be handed over to the Goldmans anyway !
..."Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive....."
An illustration...
Back in 1977, when my son was about 16 years old, he and I went coon hunting. We had my Airedale and his young Walker gyp, Annie.
We got into a woods and the dogs struck a trail. Annie in full cry and my Airedale silent. of course
We heard the dog approaching a road perhaps 1/4 mile away..we heard a vehicle stop, then start up again. Later, I recovered my Airedale but Annie was definitely gone.
My son felt about like the boy in "Red Fern"..when he lost his dogs..
About a year and a half later, we were hunting again..driving down the road..and we saw a couple hunters ahead and our headlights showed a Walker jumping around in the back seat..
My son said " That's Annie !"...I thought it was just wishful thinking..but I said " Son, we're going to folllow them home at a distance, so we can talk to them just about the time they put their dogs away..stay alert !".
We did just that..and it was Annie..so we kept our cool and exited gracefully..
Now, we were angry and could have approached them and demanded our dog..that would have been both stupid and dangerous !
Instead, we went home, gathered up Annie's papers, shot records and a decent picture..taken at our kennel.
Not being stupid, we called the sheriff and HE went down, compared dog to picture and retrieved the dog !
Were we dumb enough to approach the thief, he could have easily ordered us off his property..and made the dog to "disappear"..
OJ spent 4 years at USC..he should have known better ! I think he did know better, but believed that HE was above the law..