ok
So, here's a more detailed account of the car drama, beginning after the last entry.
My mom filed complaints with both Gwinnett and Dekalb Co PDs for their incompetence in apprehending the car thief while we were chasing him down. It turns out that we entered Dekalb Co roughly 2 miles before the 911 dispatcher bothered to transfer us, so if that had been timed better Dekalb may have had time to respond, so at this point I'm mostly just pissed at Gwinnett Co. We drove around the area again around 5pm posting flyers with a photo of a car that looks just like mine that I found on Google, along with a description of the guy we saw driving it, offering a reward for information. I spent the entire day plotting out very violent scenarios about what would happen if I were to see the guy again, and trying to figure out how to go about buying a gun.
2am Friday morning I got a call from Detective Jackson with Dekalb Co PD. Another cop pulled my car over and arrested the guy who was driving it. Det Jackson didn't have any details other than that and said he would call me back in the morning. He said I may be able to have my car back before I had to leave for work. I called him just before 9am and left him a message, and he finally called me back around 11:30am. This is what I learned:
*The guy used a key to start my car
*The guy they have in custody lives in my neighborhood
*My car had been towed to an impound lot following the arrest and I had to go bail it out
I had a spare key in one of those magnetic boxes under the car, which I assumed was what the guy had used to start it, but it wasn't. He used a factory key. I didn't find that out until I got to the impound lot though. $125 to get my car out of jail. I called Det Jackson once I noticed the key in the ignition wasn't mine, and then I discovered that my car was full of stolen property (2 digital cameras, a cell phone, pro-clippers, a backpack, the face plate off a car stereo system, CDs.) Good times. So we bagged that stuff up and left it with the lady at the impound lot, and I went off to meet Det Jackson to give him the key that was used to steal my car.
So most of Friday was spent dealing with Det Jackson, and the Gwinnett Co detectives who were SUPPOSED to call me sometime that morning but did not actually do so until around 2pm, at which point all they said was "We're closing the case on our end." Det Bridgefarmer had no interest whatsoever in speaking to me about the case, let alone investigating it. Which, naturally, pissed me off. Det Jackson was very suprised by it as well, as he had been talking with Det Gardner of Gwinnett Co PD who seemed very cooperative. Bridgefarmer said that they could not charge the thief with theft by taking since he was already being charged with theft by receiving in Dekalb, and it would be double jeopardy since it is the same charge with the same penalty. This pissed me off even more, because I am not stupid and know what double jeopardy is. Double Jeopardy just means that a person cannot be charged with teh same crime twice, qualified as occuring at the same TIME, in the same PLACE. Therefore, being charged for two DIFFERENT crimes, in two DIFFERENT jurisdictions, is NOT double jeopardy. It IS conflicting, so I understand that they cannot bring both charges against him at the same time. However, Dekalb CANNOT attemp to charge him with theft by taking since he did not TAKE anything from that county. Gwinnett doesn't want to deal with it, so they won't, and that's aggravating, b/c they could probably bring up other charges along with theft by taking if they tried, such as trespassing, and I want this man charged with everything they can throw at him.
Anyway. I took the car to the shop to have it inspected and searched for contraband (I'm paranoid) which Big 10 did for free for me b/c they are awesome, so I could confidently close out my insurance claim citing no damage done to my car. By the time I got done with all this is was about 5:30pm, so I missed work Friday as well as Thursday. That's $160 opportunity cost, guys. More fun times.
Saturday morning before work we drove around and picked up all the flyers we had posted, half of which had already been taken down.
Today I spent my lunch break at the Gwinnett Co PD picking his face out of a photo line-up. This was done at Gwinnett as a favor to Dekalb Co on a basis of proximity. Det Gardner was much nicer than Bridgefarmer and actually acted like she gave a shit, and explained that since Dekalb caught him in the car, they have a very solid case. Even with our eye witness testimony of seeing the dude in my car inside Gwinnett Co, they would have a very weak case for theft by taking, so it's better to have it go through Dekalb. Which I understand. I just want him to suffer.
Honestly, I know that this worked out as best as it possibly could have given the circumstances; I got my car back, undamaged, within 24 hours, and no one was hurt. But I am still pissed off. I am pissed off that I have to park in the carport now and have Brian park his car such that I am blocked in. I am pissed off that we have to keep the flood lights on all the time. I am pissed off that we are so paranoid in our own fucking home that I check to make sure my car is still there about every 2 hours. I am pissed off that every time the dogs make a noise we bolt out of bed to make sure no one is lurking outside (which, no one ever is. And did I mention that they slept right through the burglary? Yeah, not a peep then. Useless dogs.)
I am pissed off that I am so pissed off. I thought I would be less angry once I got my car back, but I'm not.
I want to sue him for reimbursement for the money I paid to get my car from the impound lot, and the money I lost from missing work. I want reimbursement for the half tank of gas he wasted, and the mileage he added to my car during his "joyride." I want punitive damages for pain and suffering. I want to hurt him until he no longer knows what pain is. I want revenge.
So yeah. There you have it.
(Happy New Year!)
My mom filed complaints with both Gwinnett and Dekalb Co PDs for their incompetence in apprehending the car thief while we were chasing him down. It turns out that we entered Dekalb Co roughly 2 miles before the 911 dispatcher bothered to transfer us, so if that had been timed better Dekalb may have had time to respond, so at this point I'm mostly just pissed at Gwinnett Co. We drove around the area again around 5pm posting flyers with a photo of a car that looks just like mine that I found on Google, along with a description of the guy we saw driving it, offering a reward for information. I spent the entire day plotting out very violent scenarios about what would happen if I were to see the guy again, and trying to figure out how to go about buying a gun.
2am Friday morning I got a call from Detective Jackson with Dekalb Co PD. Another cop pulled my car over and arrested the guy who was driving it. Det Jackson didn't have any details other than that and said he would call me back in the morning. He said I may be able to have my car back before I had to leave for work. I called him just before 9am and left him a message, and he finally called me back around 11:30am. This is what I learned:
*The guy used a key to start my car
*The guy they have in custody lives in my neighborhood
*My car had been towed to an impound lot following the arrest and I had to go bail it out
I had a spare key in one of those magnetic boxes under the car, which I assumed was what the guy had used to start it, but it wasn't. He used a factory key. I didn't find that out until I got to the impound lot though. $125 to get my car out of jail. I called Det Jackson once I noticed the key in the ignition wasn't mine, and then I discovered that my car was full of stolen property (2 digital cameras, a cell phone, pro-clippers, a backpack, the face plate off a car stereo system, CDs.) Good times. So we bagged that stuff up and left it with the lady at the impound lot, and I went off to meet Det Jackson to give him the key that was used to steal my car.
So most of Friday was spent dealing with Det Jackson, and the Gwinnett Co detectives who were SUPPOSED to call me sometime that morning but did not actually do so until around 2pm, at which point all they said was "We're closing the case on our end." Det Bridgefarmer had no interest whatsoever in speaking to me about the case, let alone investigating it. Which, naturally, pissed me off. Det Jackson was very suprised by it as well, as he had been talking with Det Gardner of Gwinnett Co PD who seemed very cooperative. Bridgefarmer said that they could not charge the thief with theft by taking since he was already being charged with theft by receiving in Dekalb, and it would be double jeopardy since it is the same charge with the same penalty. This pissed me off even more, because I am not stupid and know what double jeopardy is. Double Jeopardy just means that a person cannot be charged with teh same crime twice, qualified as occuring at the same TIME, in the same PLACE. Therefore, being charged for two DIFFERENT crimes, in two DIFFERENT jurisdictions, is NOT double jeopardy. It IS conflicting, so I understand that they cannot bring both charges against him at the same time. However, Dekalb CANNOT attemp to charge him with theft by taking since he did not TAKE anything from that county. Gwinnett doesn't want to deal with it, so they won't, and that's aggravating, b/c they could probably bring up other charges along with theft by taking if they tried, such as trespassing, and I want this man charged with everything they can throw at him.
Anyway. I took the car to the shop to have it inspected and searched for contraband (I'm paranoid) which Big 10 did for free for me b/c they are awesome, so I could confidently close out my insurance claim citing no damage done to my car. By the time I got done with all this is was about 5:30pm, so I missed work Friday as well as Thursday. That's $160 opportunity cost, guys. More fun times.
Saturday morning before work we drove around and picked up all the flyers we had posted, half of which had already been taken down.
Today I spent my lunch break at the Gwinnett Co PD picking his face out of a photo line-up. This was done at Gwinnett as a favor to Dekalb Co on a basis of proximity. Det Gardner was much nicer than Bridgefarmer and actually acted like she gave a shit, and explained that since Dekalb caught him in the car, they have a very solid case. Even with our eye witness testimony of seeing the dude in my car inside Gwinnett Co, they would have a very weak case for theft by taking, so it's better to have it go through Dekalb. Which I understand. I just want him to suffer.
Honestly, I know that this worked out as best as it possibly could have given the circumstances; I got my car back, undamaged, within 24 hours, and no one was hurt. But I am still pissed off. I am pissed off that I have to park in the carport now and have Brian park his car such that I am blocked in. I am pissed off that we have to keep the flood lights on all the time. I am pissed off that we are so paranoid in our own fucking home that I check to make sure my car is still there about every 2 hours. I am pissed off that every time the dogs make a noise we bolt out of bed to make sure no one is lurking outside (which, no one ever is. And did I mention that they slept right through the burglary? Yeah, not a peep then. Useless dogs.)
I am pissed off that I am so pissed off. I thought I would be less angry once I got my car back, but I'm not.
I want to sue him for reimbursement for the money I paid to get my car from the impound lot, and the money I lost from missing work. I want reimbursement for the half tank of gas he wasted, and the mileage he added to my car during his "joyride." I want punitive damages for pain and suffering. I want to hurt him until he no longer knows what pain is. I want revenge.
So yeah. There you have it.
(Happy New Year!)