Do you read the thread? If so you would know it's tied up in legal and he has to go through a court to get it back.

I read page 1 and page 4. Sorry that was supposed to be comical. I was more just trying to lighten the mood on the derail - whatever all that was about!

cheeky said:

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Psycho Bunny said:

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Here is the honest truth and it sucks. Unless you have video evidence of the perp taking the property, police won't say it to you, but their isn't much they can do for stolen property.

The value can be 1 dollar to 1 million dollars. Unless there is hard proof of perp taking said item. They are chasing a ghost and some departments don't have the man power to chase after stolen goods.

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This is complete B.S. If they would place their efforts toward crime and away from generating revenue via traffic citations then there would be far less theft with the same man power.

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Not BS. Going after stolen property is usually a waste of time. Lot's of hours, very little convictions and almost no deterrent or even recovery of stolen goods.

Traffic citations are a net loss for most agencies. Most money collected goes to the state (profit for them). Any leftover revenue doesn't begin to cover the processing costs, court costs and any overtime costs. Not even close.

Traffic cops are there to change peoples driving behaviors.

If I caught someone stealing my stuff, I would just give them a beat-down, because with the courts, that would be the only justice I would get. It sucks, but it's reality. IMO the courts are the number one problem.

Josepi said:

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Picard said:

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Tell the guy you want to buy it. Have an Uber drop you off at his house and insist on taking it for a test ride around the block. Ride it off into the sunset.

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I had a friend from college do this. Her car was stolen, and she was driving a rental. One day she is driving through a neighborhood and see's her car in a driveway. She parks the rental a few blocks away, walks back, gets in her car, and drives home with it. Went back and got the rental later in the day.

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That is a Boss Style High-Five Moment right there. Only thing better would be an added Tonya Harding style knee after the fact for good measure.

Old Sarge said:

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Josepi said:

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Picard said:

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Tell the guy you want to buy it. Have an Uber drop you off at his house and insist on taking it for a test ride around the block. Ride it off into the sunset.

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I had a friend from college do this. Her car was stolen, and she was driving a rental. One day she is driving through a neighborhood and see's her car in a driveway. She parks the rental a few blocks away, walks back, gets in her car, and drives home with it. Went back and got the rental later in the day.

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That is a Boss Style High-Five Moment right there. Only thing better would be an added Tonya Harding style knee after the fact for good measure.

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The last several years I've done a few of these type recoveries for clients when their BF/GF/fiance decides to take a car when the relationship is over. Much more fun than workers compensation surveillances. Pays a lot better too.

Hungry Ojos said:

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Out of curiosity, what are you able to do on the side that supplements your income from $65 to $120?????

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Working security at hospitals for 50 dollars an hour.

Working the Rodeo at 50 plus dollars an hour. though that's seasonal. A few LEO's I know, take 19 days off to work the rodeo. Can make any where from 5k to 25k depending on the job and hours worked.

Construction security on the freeway can bring 50 to 75 dollars an hour.

Motorcycle escorts start off at 75 dollars and can go as high as $125.

Working overtime on the streets is time and half. So figure in 35 dollars at regular pay plus time and half, that's 52.50 an hour for 8 addental hours. Do that 2, 3, 4 times a week. Money adds up fast.

Especially if you work on your days off, holidays and special events.

Also, if you're a cool kid and work bomb squad, swat, k-9, pilot, detective, work with homeland security, you get hazard pay plus extra pay for being in a special unit.

Update:

I talked to the Amarillo Stolen Vehicle Department and they said since all of the VINs and engine numbers are scratched off the bike they are working on trying to recover them. He also said If they can't then there is a good chance I'll never get the bike back and they will crush it. He told me to call the Canyon PD to talk to them.
I don't know how this process works but if somebody takes an angle grinder to them then surely you can not recover them because I've seen what an angle grinder can do to aluminum.

I talked to the Canyon Police Chief and he said that It's 50/50 on if I'll get summoned to court or if they crush my bike since he doesn't know what the process is of trying to recover the VIN.

So, that is where I'm at. Hopefully it ends well.

StockHorseAg said:

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Update:

I talked to the Amarillo Stolen Vehicle Department and they said since all of the VINs and engine numbers are scratched off the bike they are working on trying to recover them. He also said If they can't then there is a good chance I'll never get the bike back and they will crush it. He told me to call the Canyon PD to talk to them.
I don't know how this process works but if somebody takes an angle grinder to them then surely you can not recover them because I've seen what an angle grinder can do to aluminum.

I talked to the Canyon Police Chief and he said that It's 50/50 on if I'll get summoned to court or if they crush my bike since he doesn't know what the process is of trying to recover the VIN.

So, that is where I'm at. Hopefully it ends well.

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I don't think the police department can make a determination on ownership. Tell them you want a property hearing. A judge can make a determination.

wtf kind of crap is that. that sucks man.

I wish I had something you could go pour on the thieves yard and it would get them all sick and messed up.. I'm sure that pixie dust exist but I dont have any of that kind of stuff for you!

Let's hope you get it back

Crush it? Our government is so incredibly stupid and wasteful!

aggieforester05 said:

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Crush it? Our government is so incredibly stupid and wasteful!

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No way man. Someone has to operate the junk yard. Jobs program!

It's like y'all have never encountered the government. This is par for that course.

I don't know about Vin numbers but I do know they can use acids to lift serial numbers off guns. Even when they've been ground off there's deformation of the metal under the digits due to the stamping process.

Was it towed to a storage facility that is now charging a per day fee? If so I would try to go get it. Doubt the pd will make a case without the vin so just try to get your bike back.

normaleagle05 said:

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It's like y'all have never encountered the government. This is par for that course.

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Can confirm. Source: worked for gov

Here is all I can find on the State website about my situation.

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CR/htm/CR.47.htm#47.06

Here is a powerpoint made by a Judge here in the Panhandle that explains the process. I might try calling the number on the last slide and see if I can't get any advice. I looks like I have to file a petition or wait for the officer to file one. I'll be honest, I'm not the greatest at reading legal documents.

chrome-extension://bdfcnmeidppjeaggnmidamkiddifkdib/viewer.html?file=https://www.tmcec.com/files/4514/4537/0760/00_-_Blacklock_Matthes_BINDER_Property_Hearings.pdf

No, It's at the stolen vehicle department's garage.

As a side note, the guy who picked up the phone didn't know I wasn't on mute when he was talking to the other guy. They were talking about how they couldn't believe that I got their number. Little do they I know how to sweet talk to receptionists to get what I want from having to talk to feedyard and COOP ones all the time.

Well, here is the final update.

They could not recover the VIN or the engine number on my bike so they are going to crush it even though I have picture proof that I owned the bike. I asked if there is an appeal process and they said no.

They are also not pressing charges against the guy who they took the bike from.

If you get something stolen from you and the police recover it there is still a good chance you will not get it back.

As a side note, If anybody has any reasonably priced dirt bikes for sale let me know. I might be interested.

Dang. Sorry to hear that.

Tax dollars hard at work!

Can you take the department to small claims court? Seems like a judge could rule in your favor there and at least award some compensation for you to get a replacement. Most likely they'd settle out of court anyway

Sorry if mentioned since I've missed a couple pages, but can you/have you talked to any elected officials?? County commissioners/county judge or city council/mayor?

Having served on one of the above, I would have gotten heavily involved (for one of my constituents) to straighten out this mess. Ridiculous.

StockHorseAg said:

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Well, here is the final update.

They could not recover the VIN or the engine number on my bike so they are going to crush it even though I have picture proof that I owned the bike. I asked if there is an appeal process and they said no.

They are also not pressing charges against the guy who they took the bike from.

If you get something stolen from you and the police recover it there is still a good chance you will not get it back.

As a side note, If anybody has any reasonably priced dirt bikes for sale let me know. I might be interested.

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Further proof, not that we needed more, that government is a criminal enterprise. One bent on demonstrating it's monopoly on violence and theft while providing you and me no actual protection from its' competitors.

Prepare yourselves accordingly.

I have not talked to an elected official yet. That is what I am going to plan on doing tomorrow.

I talked to a relative who is a lawyer and he said that what they are doing is Idiotic and that they have no right to smash the bike. He's going to help me and call the different departments tomorrow. So I don't think it's over yet.

Post what department and the name of the person telling you that. Sounds like someone at the pd wants your bike. Canyon or Amarillo?

This doesn't sound right. Having been to numerous property hearings I've seen individuals just claim something is there's with "cause I said so" evidence and have a judge rule in their favor.

Which department is this?

It is the Canyon Police Department and the Panhandle Auto Burglary and Theft Unit. It seems like the Theft unit has control over the bike from the way the detective talks. It's been really confusing on who is in charge.

So I'll tell you how it works from a pawnshop owner's perspective.

If a detective has reasonable proof that an item is stolen he will put a "hold" on the item. Meaning I can't sell it or do anything with it. Then he'll ask me if I want a "property hearing" to have a judge determine who is the rightful owner. I always ask for this mainly for a proper judicial paper trail.

9/10 times I won't contest it and I'll simply ask for restitution from the person who sold it to me. The only time I really contested it was over a Colt Python where I had reasonable suspicion that a customer saw it for sale in my store(had been for sale for months) and wrote down the serial number and then claimed it was his.

He presented his case from a simple model and serial number written down in a binder and claimed it was his log. The police never prosecuted the man who sold it to me as they said the firearm probably changed hands legally to the seller and he didn't know it was stolen. No attempt to trace the firearm back. That's too much to ask. The judge simply took his word for it that his log was true and factual. That's it. No matter my objections of hundreds of people having access to the serial and model numbers, or the fact that that no one was being charged with stealing it nor that the only proof was the man's word.

So in my experience you have more proof that this bike is yours and have a great case to get it back. I'd ask a detective if they can hold it and request a property hearing.

Current Canyon mayor is a very good man. I don't think I know any of the current police department

Thank you for the input, I sure do appreciate it. That is BS that they let that guy take the Python from you.

I sent a text to the detective earlier saying that I have the right to go in front of a judge and and prove through a preponderance that the bike is the one stolen from me and that the legal protection of the bike falls upon the city of Canyon until it is adjudicated by the Judge.

I have found that commenting on a business's facebook page gets better customer service than calling customer service in many cases. If the departments involved have a FB page you might try that approach.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Current Canyon mayor is a very good man. I don't think I know any of the current police department

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In our small town, the PD takes direction from the City Manager - who was usually very interested in any concerns the Mayor or City Council had, since we hired and fired the CM position (and considered any enhancements to his annual pay and benefits).

If no action is taken after approaching the elected officials, I would schedule yourself to speak during the Public Speaking portion of the very next Council meeting (limited timeframe so get your speech in order). Call the paper if you have to and do the social media thing. Squeaky wheel usually gets the grease.

I called the City Managers Office and the clerk said that he is at a doctors appointment this morning but that he will be in later and give me a call.

It must be nice working for the government because anytime I call anybody they are always out doing some random thing and not at work.

Certainly not to de rail here but on this topic I thought I would share some info.
If any of you ever have a boat stolen it is very easy to grind out the HIN which is usually molded in to the fiberglass or stamped in to aluminum on the transom.
Many boat companies have an additional hidden HIN placed somewhere in the boat in typical very discreet locations. They change that location per year model and keep records of that location in classified files.
Through my career I have had the pleasure of helping to catch some thief's that thought they were home free because of no HIN.