Ok, I'm just going to lay the story out right from the beginning, because I truly need some advice here. (sorry for the long post)
Basically, I buy and sell things on craigslist for a small profit margin, in addition to have the privilege of using some nice things while before I sell them. I view things like this as a good investment, and people would be surprised what kind of deals show up (ex. the $1,500 '09 Mac Pro I'm typing on). Of course, doing this kind of "business" also comes with its disadvantages:
I am into photography, and I found myself buying a Canon Rebel XSi at a good price about a month ago. IT wasn't long until I set up a great deal basically to sell the XSi and then immediately buy a Canon 40D (both people were to meet me at the same place to do a "swap" if you will). I met these two African American boys who looked to be in their late teens and at first was suspicious, but that was all forgotten once we started talking in photography jargon. The other guy with the 40D shows up, and while I am talking with him, the two guys take the XSi and run. I chased them for about 3 blocks until they jumped a huge fence, and then I called the cops. Filed a police report, was told the situation was basically hopeless, blah blah.
The point is, the kids were stupid enough to give me their real phone number, which after a google search when I returned home revealed that they had used it on many craigslist ads for (obviously) stolen items such as multiple sets of furniture, rolexes, and 70" TVs. The phone number also was tied to both of their myspace accounts, with which I found out addresses, real names, and that the main kid is running a makeshift photography "business" (hence why he actually knew about cameras)
I printed all of this out, included the original transcript of the email conversation between us (the plaintext version with IPs), and turned all of it in to the local police dept. under my case file. Problem is, the investigator talked to me about three weeks ago saying it was promising and telling me he would go to the kids high school and talk to him, but now he hasn't called me back and won't return my phone calls.
You can understand why this is frustrating, there is nothing stopping me from going to the kids house and confronting him. Can you guys offer me any advice that doesn't deal with me wading through a sea of red tape? I just want my camera back before the kid sells it.
Thanks for the patience of reading all of that
Basically, I buy and sell things on craigslist for a small profit margin, in addition to have the privilege of using some nice things while before I sell them. I view things like this as a good investment, and people would be surprised what kind of deals show up (ex. the $1,500 '09 Mac Pro I'm typing on). Of course, doing this kind of "business" also comes with its disadvantages:
I am into photography, and I found myself buying a Canon Rebel XSi at a good price about a month ago. IT wasn't long until I set up a great deal basically to sell the XSi and then immediately buy a Canon 40D (both people were to meet me at the same place to do a "swap" if you will). I met these two African American boys who looked to be in their late teens and at first was suspicious, but that was all forgotten once we started talking in photography jargon. The other guy with the 40D shows up, and while I am talking with him, the two guys take the XSi and run. I chased them for about 3 blocks until they jumped a huge fence, and then I called the cops. Filed a police report, was told the situation was basically hopeless, blah blah.
The point is, the kids were stupid enough to give me their real phone number, which after a google search when I returned home revealed that they had used it on many craigslist ads for (obviously) stolen items such as multiple sets of furniture, rolexes, and 70" TVs. The phone number also was tied to both of their myspace accounts, with which I found out addresses, real names, and that the main kid is running a makeshift photography "business" (hence why he actually knew about cameras)
I printed all of this out, included the original transcript of the email conversation between us (the plaintext version with IPs), and turned all of it in to the local police dept. under my case file. Problem is, the investigator talked to me about three weeks ago saying it was promising and telling me he would go to the kids high school and talk to him, but now he hasn't called me back and won't return my phone calls.
You can understand why this is frustrating, there is nothing stopping me from going to the kids house and confronting him. Can you guys offer me any advice that doesn't deal with me wading through a sea of red tape? I just want my camera back before the kid sells it.
Thanks for the patience of reading all of that
