OMG!
I woke up this morning because there was a knock on my door. I didn't recognize who it was, and I was half asleep, so I ignored it.
Then, a few minutes later, I decided to get out of bed and go to the gym. As I walked outside, I realized my scooter was gone.
I ran back inside. I called for Jim. "Did you put the scooter away last night?" No.
Damn.
So, then I called the police. The woman on the phone asked for a VIN number since the scooter doesn't have a license plate (49cc.) I had to go the bank to the safe deposit box to grab the VIN number and the policy information.
When I got back home, the same man who knocked on the door at 8:00 a.m., was talking outside to my husband. Turns out, he's our neighbor and found my scooter while walking his dog. I asked, "How do you know it's our scooter?" He said it's because it's pretty distinct.
So, Jim and I said thanks and drove to the location where our neighbor found the scooter. There it was-- on its side, in an alley.
The scooter had been hijacked. Someone tried to hot wire it, and the ignition was a mangled mess of metal. I couldn't get my key inside the ignition to start it. Plus, there was structural damage--I saw many scratches and scrapes, including the seat, which I thought was a bit odd, even for thieves. Since I couldn't get it started, I had to walk the scooter home in the rain this morning.
I called the police and made a report. Then, I called the insurance and made a claim. Great.
I just need to say a couple of things:
1) I thought my stuff was safe in my neighborhood.. Rountree is such a quite, cute place to live.
2) Jim thinks they scoped out my bike because they obviously had the tools ready to steal my bike. Jim said they probably knew what time I got home and everything. And that would make sense since my bike has recently been parked in the front because of its frequented use.
3) Since it was stolen and found in my neighborhood, I'm guessing that someone near my neighborhood or inside my neighborhood stole it. Jim got a suspicious vibe when he saw a certain group of people watching him this morning pick up the pieces of the bike strewn across the alley.
4) I feel really violated! Seriously! There's just something about someone taking your stuff from your yard... that REALLY gets your blood boilin'. Infuriating! I wish we could've caught the knuckleheads in the act! Or better yet, I wish Minnie would've caught them. ARGH.
AND YES, I HAVE ASKED THAT CHARGES BE FILED! The police asked me if I would press charges, and I said yes. But from a journalistic standpoint, doesn't a prosecutor press charges? I feel like that's something they only say in the movies... but who cares... I WILL ENCOURAGE THAT CHARGES BE FILED.
I can't stand thievery. Those turds outta be ashamed of themselves.
5 comments:
It does suck. At then end of the day just remember it was just stuff and be thankful that you and Jim are ok!
I smell a sting operation.
Can you get another scooter (maybe an old junker that doesn't look like a junker) and set it out where you left the other one with a night camera set up and try to catch them?
Forget the police!!! They won't find out who did it because they don't really care. It doesn't generate money for the city and you got your scooter back so...crime solved.
What you do is investigate things yourself. Find out who the these little thieving punks are, and arrange for someone who is a disinterested third party to knock the snot out of them...and make sure they know WHY it's happening to them. I guarantee they'll re-think stealing once they've gotten the crap kicked out of 'em!!
This is a lot of what I felt back in June when my car was broken into and some computer equipment stolen (PDA and a laptop). Had they not dumped my ham radio gear in the driveway I might not have been anymore the wiser. I believe the folks that broke into my vehicle were people that were at a party a couple of doors down from my house. I can't confirm that but my gut keeps telling me that those were the people involved.
It really does get you when you think you live in a neighborhood that is safe. It just takes one incident like this to make you feel almost defenseless.
Max...
These punks were ammatuers. If they knew what they were doing, you'd never seen that thing again. Sounds like some of the superficial damage was due to the fact that they got pissed off BECAUSE they were ammatuers and couldn't get going.
Sorry about your bad motor scooter.
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