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Car Parts Stolen While Vehicle in a Garage
Lautermilch
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A friend has a 17 year old brother ‘Carl’ who for some unknown reason posts an online advertisement offering a key to his cousin’s auto shop for people to take as much as they wanted for $300.
The offer was taken that day, the key given, and the person that bought the key took some Nissan parts and left leaving some of his friends to take what they wanted. But the owner of the garage showed up and everyone else was caught. Some of the people were beaten but the police were not called as all parties involved simply do not want to deal with the police if not needed. All the parts were returned except for parts from a Nissan that was in the garage for work. Two doors, the main console, and some engine parts were gone.
The owner of the Nissan did not have insurance as neither did the garage. The Nissan owner is demanding his car be repaired and the missing parts comes to $4000. Carl went to the local police on his idea that the police would help him get the parts back from the person who bought the key. The person who bought the key in the first place admits to have the parts but considers them his since he paid. Surprisingly the police will not take the matter any further.
A few weeks later and the Nissan owner is demanding $4000 cash or pressing charges. I explained to the friend that it would have to be the garage owner to make a crime report since the car was in his garage and out of the control of its owner. Once the car was locked under the care of a third party the rules change a bit as I understand. Being that the owner of the garage is Carl’s cousin he does not want to press charges and left it with Carl getting a fat lip with a matching black eye as a reminder not to steal.
The friend is very worried that her brother will be arrested if payment is not made. She offered the money under conditions of a settlement letter being signed with the VIN number and all parties listed on the agreement. The Nissan owner just wants cash.
So does anyone have any experience with a crime like this where it happened with property under control of a third party?
The offer was taken that day, the key given, and the person that bought the key took some Nissan parts and left leaving some of his friends to take what they wanted. But the owner of the garage showed up and everyone else was caught. Some of the people were beaten but the police were not called as all parties involved simply do not want to deal with the police if not needed. All the parts were returned except for parts from a Nissan that was in the garage for work. Two doors, the main console, and some engine parts were gone.
The owner of the Nissan did not have insurance as neither did the garage. The Nissan owner is demanding his car be repaired and the missing parts comes to $4000. Carl went to the local police on his idea that the police would help him get the parts back from the person who bought the key. The person who bought the key in the first place admits to have the parts but considers them his since he paid. Surprisingly the police will not take the matter any further.
A few weeks later and the Nissan owner is demanding $4000 cash or pressing charges. I explained to the friend that it would have to be the garage owner to make a crime report since the car was in his garage and out of the control of its owner. Once the car was locked under the care of a third party the rules change a bit as I understand. Being that the owner of the garage is Carl’s cousin he does not want to press charges and left it with Carl getting a fat lip with a matching black eye as a reminder not to steal.
The friend is very worried that her brother will be arrested if payment is not made. She offered the money under conditions of a settlement letter being signed with the VIN number and all parties listed on the agreement. The Nissan owner just wants cash.
So does anyone have any experience with a crime like this where it happened with property under control of a third party?
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I have no advice to give, but...wow. I can't imagine either the local police or the county's sheriff's office letting something like that slide where I live.
Not me after *two* occasions with bicycles being stolen on video with both suspects very known on the streets. The police said without the serial numbers they were not do anything. In both cases the people who had their bikes taken went looking for justice.
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Only person who can really press charges in this case is the owner of the Nissan against the garage for selling his property without his approval as far as I can see... and IANAL and all that. Even in that case, I'm not sure how far the "not responsible for property taken from vehicle" type of sign would extend in this instance.
Outside of that, Carl is a fucking idiot, and in my opinion, is liable for the $4000 in parts that were stolen from the owner of the Nissan.
One is that the Nissan's owner can levy a civil lawsuit against both Carl (though, at the age of 17, that may turn out to be against his guardian) AND the guy who 'bought' the key. If I was the car owner, I'd toss the garage owner on there too for good measure. Let the court decide who gets to pay what part of the costs.
The other option is that Carl and his sister go find a lawyer and ask these questions to attempt a deal with the Nissan's owner that doesn't involve jail time/community service (despite what good that may prove to be for Carl). In all cases legal, the particular rules are depend greatly on location. What is legal in one state may be automatic jail time in another, etc.
So, in either case, Carl and sister will need to ask a lawyer for particular laws governing such issues as this. As for Carl... the only thing that will keep him from being liable for this situation is the fact that he's under the age of 18 (assuming this is occured in the USA). Even then, he could still possibly receive adult status in the resulting case.
Think of it this way: If I steal a truck full of TVs and then give the TVs to a friend to sell and then give the truck back to the owner of the truck... whose fault is it that the TVs are gone? Sure people bought them... but only because I stole the truck. I can't rightly claim that, since I brought the truck back, it isn't my fault that people bought the TVs when my friend sold them. Nor could I rightly claim that it is my friend's fault for selling the TVs I let him sell.
Murphy's Paradox: The more you plan, the more that can go wrong. The less you plan, the less likely your plan will succeed.
This is a fecking mess and your friend shouldn't get involved unless she's his legal guardian and a lawyer should be called.
This kinda smells like an insurance fraud scheme to me, honestly.
I would say that you not only stole the truck but also the TVs and thus are directly liable for their theft. Your friend would be on the hook for whatever laws apply for knowingly trafficking in stolen goods.
Well, he said neither the owner of the car nor the garage have insurance... so that would be tough to pull off...
Though I'm not entirely sure how the owner of the garage doesn't have insurance... seems like that's not legal.
I'd say something about a learning experience and consequences of your actions here, but honestly I just don't see that happening. Leave Carl to his own devices and lock your shit up when he comes over to visit.
wait, I may have misread it at first. Stuff below the spoiler only applies if the owner of the car is suing the garage owner:
Your friend is worried that Carl is going to get arrested? because of a civil action brought by the owner of the Nissan against the garage owner? The only way that's happening is if the owner presses charges against Carl, which seems unlikely and extremely unwise since he pounded Carl's face in afterward as a "reminder." Carl could very well be in the clear at this point, but a bit of counsel never hurt anyone.
Your friend should not, under any circumstances, pay $4000 in cash with no signed agreement. (and really shouldn't be talking about helping pay for the settlement anyway) This is the garage owner's problem now.
If the owner of the car is threatening to sue Carl, then Carl definitely needs legal representation, and they should not even think about offering any kind of settlement until after talking to a lawyer about it. Has the car owner talked to a lawyer yet? have you heard from the car owner's lawyer? If not, they are trying to intimidate them into settling before they even know who to sue.
FOR YOUR FRIEND'S PEACE OF MIND:
anyone who is being threatened with civil action is not going to be in trouble of being arrested for a looong time. You'd have to do something really atrocious in court or lose the case and then refuse to pay before you're in danger of spending a single moment in jail.
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Though, the guy who stole the Nissan parts had to have known exactly what he was doing. No question.
Carl is a retard who needs to spend some time getting his ass kicked by the legal system. He'll get off way more lightly than he should since he's a minor, but he has it coming. The owner of the shop should press charges against him. Once charges are pressed against Carl, then the guy who has the Nissan parts is in possession of stolen property, and the cops should do something about it.