Ad leads theft victim to his stolen motorcycle/VA

[PeteSC]

Ad leads theft victim to his stolen motorcycle
 
 
Stafford man sees ad for a motorcycle bike, goes to look at it and discovers that it's his.

By BILL FREEHLING


Date published: 12/1/2005

By BILL FREEHLING

A Stafford County man tracked down his stolen motorcycle last weekend in Caroline County after seeing a newspaper advertisement for it, police said.

The man's Kawasaki KX 500 was stolen in August 2003, said Lt. Jeff DeBord of the Stafford Sheriff's Office. Another motorcycle and a four-wheeler that he was restoring were also stolen.

He reported the thefts to the Stafford Sheriff's Office, but the investigation was suspended a couple of months later when the bikes were not found.

On Saturday, the Caroline Sheriff's Office got a call from the theft victim.

He was looking at a Kawasaki KX 500 in Caroline that seemed exactly the same as the one stolen back in 2003.

Caroline Sheriff Tony Lippa said a deputy requested documentation from the seller to show the bike was rightfully his. The seller couldn't produce it.

Both men were interviewed, and the bike's identification number was examined. Lippa said the Stafford man got the bike back after it was determined that he was the rightful owner.

DeBord said the Stafford man had seen the bike advertised in the newspaper--DeBord thought it was The Free Lance-Star--and decided to check it out.

Police are still looking for the other two stolen bikes. No charges have been filed against the Caroline seller or anybody else.

DeBord said the seller may have bought it from somebody else, but that remains unclear. Stafford is handling the investigation.

Lippa said there likely won't be any charges in Caroline, as the theft occurred in Stafford and it would be difficult to prove that the seller knew the bike was stolen.

Police did not release the names of the seller or the rightful owner

[Slider]

Isn't this just great! It seems the best way to evade the law. Steal... then sell in another jurisdiction and the law says , "you're OK bub", ya couldn'ta known its source.

Such is the the degeneration of the law and its enforcement.

Mike

[jimmym1296]

I would think that they could charge him with receiving stolen goods. I guess it's always a good idea to get a bill of sale when buying something without a title.

[EODSarge]

What they've got to prove- if their laws are anything like Georgia's- is that the guy who had it should have reasonably known it was stolen. If they can't, they can't charge him with anything.

If it was me, I'd have checked the VIN before I paid anything for it.

[PeteSC]

Gee, you kind of wonder what kind of shape the bike is in after 2 years?