Possible stolen vehicle question

[P5Ret]

I think the biggest problem is that you keep talking to dispatchers. No disrespect meant but most dispatchers (as is evident by the one's you have been talking to) don't know that you don't have to be the owner to report it stolen. I think I have taken a few hundred on rental cars over the years, never once did I take the initial report from a company rep.

[Unit74]

Good to know Unit74. Maybe I should call back today.

I've thought about storage fees, but was told I can only start charging storage now. Not for the past 7 months, I would have had to give notice of storage fees when I received the subpoena.

You can file a lien for whatever you want....wiping the dust of it, taking up space.... Whatever. File for all the back storage at...say..... Whatever the local tow yards charge. It's up to. The owner or court to decide what you rate at the end of the day.

[BomarFab]

Thank you guys. I am going to try today to at least file an incident report, I would like to have something in writing to help cover my butt if need be.

I don't see why the PD won't take a report. It doesn't matter that you're not the RO. You were in possession of the vehicle when it was stolen. It's no different than if they had broken into your shop and stolen it.

This was basically my thinking, if a vehicle was stolen from inside my shop I feel like I would be able to make a report. But in that case my personal property would have been invaded, in this case the vehicle was on private property not owner/rented by me.

[BomarFab]

At the Windsor police station waiting for an officer to take my report.

In other news, I talked to the landlord, she did not have it towed. She said it was there Friday night. She was nice enough to ask a few neighbors that worker Saturday and no one saw anything that day. They did say they saw some scrap guys looking at it Friday however.

[BomarFab]

So they took down on record that I reported a crime, but need to talk to the registered owner to do anything more.

[Tripper]

tell them
you know its your business but somebody else built it.

[AfghanVetOrcutt]

tell them
you know its your business but somebody else built it.

Presidential pardon right there!

[NYsteveZ]

I would document everything to CYA. If that owner comes back and states the car WAS stolen and you did (or appeared to do) nothing, that can bite you. Write down EVERYTHING, times you tried to contact owner, names of dispatchers you spoke to and what they said-At LEAST you will have that to go off of.

By the way...A car without an engine and transmission STILL targeted for theft? Just curious, what kind or type of car? Classic, exotic?

[BomarFab]

The owner finally responded today, I asked him to contact the Windsor Police Department ASAP and report it stolen, as that is what they informed me to do. Have not heard if he did that yet, its been about 2 hours.

I will document everything I have done thus far. I have several witnesses that should be able to back me up if need be, but I hope it does not come to that.

The vehicle in question was a 1989 Dodge D50. Nothing special, but it had a lot of labor into it, and several thousand in parts on it. There is another several thousand in parts still inside the shop, that belong to the vehicle.

I removed some suspension components to essentially set the vehicle on the ground, thinking that would deter any theft over the weekend. Apparently not. There are drag marks on the pavement. My shop is in a good part of a good town, and apparently only a small trailer has been stolen from the parking lot in the last 9 years the business park has been here. I never expected this to happen.

The landlord said some of the neighbors saw scrap guys around late on a weeknight, and mid afternoon Saturday. Same ones, but they never saw them touch the vehicle. These guys come from out of town to pick up scrap, and have tried to steal radiators, axles, brake rotors and catalytic converters right in front of me before.

[BomarFab]

One of my neighbors just came over and told me he saw someone take it early Sunday morning. He said they parked in front of my shop with a trailer and a large dark blue truck, maybe Ford or Dodge. He said it didn't seem suspicious, since people load stuff on trailers here pretty often, so he didn't pay much attention. He did say the guy used a winch to get it on, and covered it with a black tarp and drove off.