Stolen Bike, may be recovered, what to do with the Thief?

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2011 12:49am #1

My bike went missing about 6mts ago, I gave up any hope of getting it back, out of the back of my eye tonight I saw a similar looking bike with my front forks and my crud catcher on the back. The bike was painted black, it had that hand painted look, I didn't get close enough to fully inspect it but i'm pretty sure it's mine which was given a paint job.
I reported it at the time and gave a picture to the Garda, i'll have video evidence tomorrow from a local business as it cycled past their premises, it might not be mine but i'm 99% it is.
Where do I go from here, I don't want to approach the individual if it turns out to be me mine with a new paint job, what would the Garda do in this instance, would they try and recover the bike and possibly press charges. I've no mercy for thieves but wonder would it be worth the trouble to take it any further.
I brought the bike in especially from the uk so the chances of someone having the same bike are very slim. The only thing that looks like it has changed is the color and the saddle. The cruds even looked painted.

Any advice on what to do if the cameras confirm it's mine?

Nozebleed · 20-01-2011 12:54am

steal it back. strip the paint off..bobs you uncle.

Beasty · 20-01-2011 1:00am

Nozebleed wrote: »

steal it back. strip the paint off..bobs you uncle.

Not even a smiley - any suggestions like that again and you will get an infraction

OP - contact the Gards, do not try and take the law into your own hands. Ultimately you will need to prove it's yours (and the guy currently riding it may have ample evidence that it's his)

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2011 1:02am

hopefully a bottle of turps will fix it up...

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2011 1:06am

Beasty wrote: »

OP - contact the Gards, do not try and take the law into your own hands. Ultimately you will need to prove it's yours (and the guy currently riding it may have ample evidence that it's his)

I've no intention of getting involved, I can prove it's mine but who goes to the trouble of bringing in a bike from the UK and then paints it with a paintbrush. I very much doubt he can prove it's his if it's mine.

Beasty · 20-01-2011 1:11am

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I've no intention of getting involved, I can prove it's mine but who goes to the trouble of bringing in a bike from the UK and then paints it with a paintbrush. I very much doubt he can prove it's his if it's mine.

Do what you like, but don't come on here looking for "advice" that involves taking the law into your own hands, as I will infract anyone that offers such advice

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2011 1:18am

Beasty wrote: »

Do what you like, but don't come on here looking for "advice" that involves taking the law into your own hands, as I will infract anyone that offers such advice

I didn't, I never said anything about taking the law into my own hands.
What i wanted to know was what would happen if I wanted to pursue charges, basically is it worth going to court?

Beasty · 20-01-2011 1:24am

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I didn't, I never said anything about taking the law into my own hands.
What i wanted to know was what would happen if I wanted to pursue charges, basically is it worth going to court?

My original response was aimed at someone who had gone down that route

It's really for the guards to decide whether to prosecute, and I would suggest you get them involved either way, if only to make this guy think twice about doing it again - the more people who are taken to court over this sort of thing the better so far as I am concerned.

Yes it's hassle, but hopefully you get your bike back also

blueythebear · 20-01-2011 1:27am

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I didn't, I never said anything about taking the law into my own hands.
What i wanted to know was what would happen if I wanted to pursue charges, basically is it worth going to court?

The decision over whether the bike thief is to be charged does not lie with you, it lies with the Gardai. If they get involved, he will most likely be charged with handling stolen goods unless there is proof of him taking the bike, which it doesn't seem there is in this case.

If he is charged and he pleads not guilty, then you will become involved to prove your ownership of the bike (just to give evidence in court to prove it's your bike and it was stolen). For something like this, he would most likely plead guilty. His penalty would be pretty minor. most likely a fine.

As to whether you'd be able to sue him for loss, it is feasible that you could sue for trespass to property perhaps, but it wouldn't be worth the hassle.

If you're sure it's your bike get the Gardaí involved in order to get it back.

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2011 1:29am

Only bought a new bike on Saturday:o, i'd like to see a prosecution if it turns out to be mine, I hope it is as i've been keeping a keen eye on donedeal, adverts and ebay since it was stolen as I reckoned it would turn up somewhere at some stage.

Your right i've no proof it was that person who took the bike, handling stolen property would be the best I could hope for if that's worth anything at all.

Capt'n Midnight · 20-01-2011 1:49am

If there were no buyers then there would be a lot less thefts. So someone receiving goods that are stolen ( it the price is too good to be true ... ) is part of the problem.

Otherwise if the person is the thief then 3 cases

1 / thief is drifting towards crime, the shock of getting caught might put them on the straight an narrow before they get too far in , (broken windows and all that )

2/ thief is a scumbag with lots of prior, - do society a favour

3/ you are afraid of the thief, is it a rational fear ?

Thing is theif won't be prosecuted unless there is a case against them, if found guilty it's up to the judge and not the jury to decide what the sentence is

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2011 2:08am

A national identity tag for bikes wouldn't be a bad idea at least shops and genuine buyers would know if a bike is dodgy or not and could report one that's not genuine.
It must be one of the most stolen items, my brother won't buy another bike after having every one he ever bought stolen neither will my brother in law, it's actually turned them off cycling probably for life.

At this stage i've written the bike off and bought a new one, so there would be a certain fear there that I might get a battering some night if the handler/thief got in trouble. It all depends on what kind of scumbag they are.

happytramp · 20-01-2011 1:01pm

I'm guessing that with grainy CCTV footage it's going to be very difficult to positively identify your bike. Even if you can, do you have any info on the alleged thief? Like here he lives, works or keeps the bike? It might be hard to get the police motivated if all they've got to go on is footage of some guy on a bike that may or may not be yours! I'm not saying it's impossible, but just don't get too disappointed! Good Luck.

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2011 1:43pm

Just had a look at the footage, the angle was very bad, all I could say from it was there was a painted crud catcher on the back attached the same place mine was but it's not enough to go on. The camera didn't pick up the front of the bike, if I saw the forks it would have been enough.
Another bike still on the missing list:(

Stolen Bike, may be recovered, what to do with the Thief?

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