[Brian Baker]

I still say Paul's theft was an inside job when he dropped the trailer off for warranty work.

[Ron Landis]

Originally Posted by A.W.Dille

Good luck in finding your stuff Paul, hope you can get it back. Ron how long ago was the incident at Trails? If memory serves me correct a similiar theft occured just before I moved here to NC in 95, I can't remember if it was a MoPar class racer or a Chevy.

...it was Dave Conkey and his father. He ran something like H or K stock...stick class. Dave had the '68 while his dad's was an '85 or so. They traveled the circuit. Good people, but ain't that the way! Probably 8 or 9 years ago, I can't recall.

[GTO JOHN]

It's better not to shoot at all, but if you do shoot somebody drag them inside your house/shop. Just because they are on your property means nothing. If they are inside your house, then you have more rights under state and federal law regarding self-defense.

Another thing to aid in recovery of stolen goods is to engrave your initials or code on the inside of a block if your building a high dollar engine. If you find the stolen engine later on, you can produce your code and them proceed to tear down the block in front of the authorities to reveal the hidden numbers you engraved proving you are the rightful owner. Happened to a guy up here and he got his stuff back on the spot!

[fastgtr]

the heck with that turn the other cheek crap. I'll settle up with the big guy when we finally meet face to face. I got a few issues to discuss with him. turn the other cheek my eye, the only that that has ever done is encourage evryone else to slap ya around. Why wouldn't they. If ya take it and take it, you are a coward and weakling. God won't respect you for that. Having said that... if ya earned the blow... take it like a man! Gotta tell ya...one guy stole some wheels and tires off my 66 GTO, and wrecked the darned thing doing it. Cost me more to fix it that the car was worth. I did it anyways. A few months later I caught him myself with the tires and wheels on his car and held him there for the cops and though they would arrest him as he was indeed in possession of my wheels. They gave me back my wheels and all that, but he was out the next f ing day. Court let him go cause his dad was a cop. I waited a few eat his behind so bad his own family couldnt recognize him. Scared the crap out of half the town too. They had no idsea how pissed off I could get or how far I would go when pushed. He was 24 and I was 16. My best freinds dad was chief of police in our town, and couldnt stand the kid who had done this, and liked me a good bit so he refused to press charges saying there wasnt enough evidence. What comes around goes around. And if you come to my door looking for trouble, you'll find me ready and able to deal with any and all thieves or other miscreants intending to rip me off in one manner another. As I have said to my kids many times... if somebody is in my house after midnight...uninvited...they arent going to leave alive. They arent there to do me any favors, and I have to assume law enforcement isnt going to come to my home and render aid quickly unless I am beating my wife! Then they surely arent going to do anything to protect me when the little prick gets out of jail and comes looking for me. Nope. Going down now. No questions.

[Bill Boyle]

There should not be any statute of limitations involved here. A crime is a crime and remains one until the culprits are found and there's enough evidence to indict and prosecute. Something doesn't sound right here. FWIW

[steveK]

Paul, congrats and whattta story. I remember when your car was first stolen. You had just completed my engine. Now, years later, it's back in the headlines!!!

[fastgto]

fastgtr for president..........

[goquick]

I already did the legal "right way" by catching the thieves. I also ended up with three years of my life taken away by not killing the thieves too. To hell with the law and the sissies wearing those badges and the court system. Steal from me and I'll bury you for now on!!! Believe it or not I didn't used to be this way. But you haven't been thru what I have.

[TACRick]

Originally Posted by Chris Roach

Not to stray too far off topic, but you never know how close theft items can be!

I had problems with kids two doors down when we bought this lot back in 1986. It's wooded and local kids were driving ATVs through the woods, skinning up trees, eroding creekbanks, and generally making nuisances of themselves. If it were THEIR property it wouldn't have been a big deal, but it wasn't -- and they were using the opportunity of being out-of-sight, out-of-mind to drink and smoke (and not tobacco). I caught them and asked nicely that they not come back. They agreed and left -- but returned as soon as they thought I was out of sight. The second time I chased them down and ordered them out -- and to drive the point home I stopped by their house and interrupted their dad watching a Saturday afternoon football game to tell him to keep his kids off my property. He didn't like it and told me so. I told him I was sorry but the next time it happened he'd be talking to the sheriff. A year later I caught them again and this time held them for the sheriff. The dad wasn't home so the kids spent the afternoon at the jail, waiting for them. Shortly thereafter I got apologies from both the parents and the kids.

Three years later our neighborhood was hit by a crime wave. Every house on the road got hit -- mostly garage thefts -- except ours. It turns out that the same kids were now stealing to support their pot/coke habits. Apparently they remembered that I followed through with my promises as we weren't bothered. Their garage was loaded with stolen stuff and the glovebox in their car was crammed with pawn tickets for stuff they'd stolen. The family had to sell their house to pay the legal and rehab bills -- that was the last anybody's seen of them. That's been 14 years ago and nobody's heard of them since -- the kids are probably dead or in jail as habitual offenders.

[mikediaz]

heh that's an interesting story. Let's hope the kids got better and got the help they needed but yeah thats not usually the case. How are kids getting into all these hard core drugs like crack so young. Was it worse in the 80s (as for some reason I would imagine) or what? Ah well...

[Paul Spotts]

This whole deal is bringing up some real bad memories. (and good memories like Steve's engine!) I don't think I slept for a month or so when it happened. I have an idea how a women feels when she is raped. Its interesting to read how this kind of thing can make you nuts. I also have to not get too "hung up" over it. Not worth being bitter in life, yet I can see how I could. I'm glad I read some of your experiences. You have to go through this to really understand. At this time the engine is pulled from the car and is still for sale! The Camaro is still for sale! No wonder these guys steal - it is so easy to get away scott free. My message to every Pontiac person is - this could be you next. I'm not interested in my car or engine back like I'm interested in justice. Who knows if that will happen, but there are several people working on this. What is sad is to know how some people don't even care if something is stolen, as long as they can buy it cheap. I can tell you, though, if that person does get it, the spring pads were machined (not by me) and broke through to the coolant. Ceramic seal kept the oil and cooant from mixing. Also the scum bags hooked up a nitrous fogger, so I bet the poor thing is hammered. Thieves have no respect for a Pontiac engine (They were Chevy guys)

[GOAT490]

Even if the CRIMINAL case against them is past the statute of limitations, maybe a nice CIVIL suit might be in order. Or at the very least we could all donate some money for a newspaper or radio ad about these losers so others would know who they are and what they did! However it works out, DO NOT let a couple of losers wreck your outlook on life. And I still can't believe it's been SEVEN years! I remember how sick I felt when I heard about it.

PHILLYGOAT

[goatasaurus rex]

i can understand everyone being pi$$ed off over some of the limp dick laws in this county. but i would like to add a word of caution about taking action with deadly force. as a ccw holder in the state of michigan, i know that here it is a felony to defend property with deadly force. please check your state laws to understand your rights or lack thereof exactly.

[goquick]

Sounds like Michigan is a F'ed up commie state with a b.s. thief supporting law like that. Oh well, who says that after the scumbag is dead you have to call the coward going to arrest you instead of the bad guys cop anyway !!!! I won't ever again !!!! Sorry officer, I've never seen him... Paul, you may not want your stuff back, but do you want the scum to pay? Laws protecting thieves should be broken!! I'll clear my calender. I hate theives and I'm not very fond of those sworn to protect the public but instead protect thieves.

[GoatRider]

I look at the deadly force on theives this way:

"Officer he saw that I had a pistol, he kept moving toward me anyway. If I had not shot him when I did, he would have been within arm's reach of struggling with me over my own weapon."

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[TJH]

I'm in the process of getting my CCW in Michigan. Kinda funny- that I need to go INTO Detroit, to file the papers, BEFORE getting the permit. You would think, for safety's sake, that the CCW would be issued BEFORE you need to go into Detroit, but...
A guy here in Dearborn SAW his Dodge Ram getting stolen. He grabbed his 9mm, and gave chase in another car. He actually put very nearly the entire 15-round magazine into his own truck (unfortunately, without hitting the thieves).
Believe it or not, the DA ruled it a clean shoot, and declined to press charges.
Also, there is legislation now working through the system to allow a homeowner to defend with deadly force his home, instead of having to "escape" if some scum tries to break in.
Hopefully, things will start to change for the better...

[TACRick]

Originally Posted by TJH

Also, there is legislation now working through the system to allow a homeowner to defend with deadly force his home, instead of having to "escape" if some scum tries to break in.

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana signed similar legislation into law earlier this spring. Florida has the same law also.

For a change, SANITY spreads...

[goquick]

That is good news on the bill that you can protect your property from theives. Back when you could, there wasn't as much crime. There is a connection!

[Wareagle]

Paul maybe you can relax a bit now--our house was broken into in the 90's and they got quite a bit ---Those Varmints.

[428PHIL]

Originally Posted by Paul Spotts

This whole deal is bringing up some real bad memories. (and good memories like Steve's engine!) I don't think I slept for a month or so when it happened. I have an idea how a women feels when she is raped. Its interesting to read how this kind of thing can make you nuts. I also have to not get too "hung up" over it. Not worth being bitter in life, yet I can see how I could. I'm glad I read some of your experiences. You have to go through this to really understand. At this time the engine is pulled from the car and is still for sale! The Camaro is still for sale! No wonder these guys steal - it is so easy to get away scott free. My message to every Pontiac person is - this could be you next. I'm not interested in my car or engine back like I'm interested in justice. Who knows if that will happen, but there are several people working on this. What is sad is to know how some people don't even care if something is stolen, as long as they can buy it cheap. I can tell you, though, if that person does get it, the spring pads were machined (not by me) and broke through to the coolant. Ceramic seal kept the oil and cooant from mixing. Also the scum bags hooked up a nitrous fogger, so I bet the poor thing is hammered. Thieves have no respect for a Pontiac engine (They were Chevy guys)

Paul
I really hope your able to track down who put your Pontiac engine in a Camaro. It would seem who ever did, did it because you really wouldn't look at another brand to find it, only in a Pontiac, and figured no one would catch them.

Good Luck
Phil