I've been burgled...

[Cohiba Stevie]

Mods feel free to delete this post as its just me trying to vent some of my anger, I agree this might not be the best place to share but hopefully I can hear from some people who have been through a similar thing and maybe get some advice, thank you in advance.

I returned yesterday from my sisters wedding in Portugal so discover that my garage has been broken into.

Getting the serious stuff out of the way is that they didn't manage to get in to the house and nobody was harmed.

My family are still out in Portugal and are still in shock. Things that went missing were:

My dads guitars (two 1970s fender stratocasters)

His speakers and PA equipment (would have taken a huge van to move it all)

All my hand tools (since I left school at 14 to be an apprentice plumber I've been building my collection ever since, even when I got out of the construction game I kept buying them and used them all, DIY is something I'm passionate about and I'm in the process of buying my first home which I had so many plans for, they are sadly down the drain for now)

All my power tools (easily over £1000 worth of Hilti, bosch and dewalt gear)

My bicycle (Carerra crossfire 3 hybrid I got a few weeks ago that I used once)

Here comes the clincher: after police dusted everything for fingerprints and we had a specialist locksmith out, the garage door shows no sign of forced entry, right now the early conclusion we are coming to is that the garage door must have been left open while we were away. Its a silly thing I know, but when the whole family is focused on the upcoming wedding I can understand why my father my have forgot to lock it...

This also brings into question possible suspects, to rob us when we are away in another country and come heavily prepared with a van to move my dads music gear means somebody close by must have knew what was going on.

Furthermore, police done a sweep of all houses in the street asking if anybody seen anything to which all bar one response was no.

Turns out the person who lives right across the road from me says he got broken into and had djing equipment stolen but did not report it, for reasons we are not aware.

He's a shady character with no job, but rents a house in our street which is no way cheap, i'm not at all trying to sound like a snob but my mum and dad have done ok for themselves and moved us to this area which many people would call one of the best streets in belfast... but all his drapes are closed and he has car after car of random people drive up to his home 24 7 to make visits of 10-20 mins and then they leave, this goes on till the early hours of the morning. No neighbours know his surname or ever had a lengthy chat with him in the 4 months he's lived here.

It's very wrong of me to jump to conclusions or make false accusations but I'm very concerned about this guy across the road, I'm very upset and angry and my extended family have been round to calm me down and they've begged me not to approach him in case anything happens.

I don't know what to do guys. I'm so (moderated) angry right now I can't think.

I'm worried in case the house insurance won't pay out as the door was unlocked too. The whole thing is a mess.

Is there anybody out there that could advise me? I would be forever grateful for your help, many thanks.

If I have said anything out of turn or sounded like a tosser, please forgive me and mods please feel free to delete.

Thanks for reading FOH.

Stevie.

[Paul3]

Oh man brother, really sorry to hear this. Few things can tick you off as when some low life steals from you and adds to injury by invading your home. If there is a shining light it's that none of your family was hurt. I am no lawyer, so I will not pretend to pass on legal advice, but I will humbly advise against any physical confrontation with the neighbor....more easily said than done I know, but without solid evidence such a confrontation could turn a bad situation even worse.

I don't know how prevalent pawn shops are in Ireland, but in the U.S. it's not entirely uncommon to have power tools turn up at the local pawn shops. If you've got pictures and or serial numbers on any of your stolen items it might be worth the effort to stop by the local shops and let the owners know. Wish I could help out more.

Again really sorry to hear this and best of luck recovering your goods.

Paul

[NJP]

A dealer won't dirty up his place of business. Who needs the attention of burglary when you make more than enough money from other means. Jealousy is a good reason to take from people you know the culprit might be closer than you think.

[OZCUBAN]

Sorry to hear about your burglary ,absolute scum, at least they didn't get in ti your parents house,and touch their stuff and i presume your cigars.

I have been broken into before as well ,and whilst we were sleeping upstairs.hope your cigars are ok.

dont count on the insurance company coming to the party they will always find a way of weaselling out of paying,but having said that you might get lucky

hope every thing resolves its self for the better

cheers

Steve

[MIKA27]

Hi Stevie.

So sorry to hear about this and no way do you sound like a tosser mate, I actually think your post is quite composed.

Before I read your full post I straight away felt that this was an opportunistic theft by someone who either knows you and or a shifty neighbor. Now that I have read your post, yes, without proof, one can not 100% place blame without proof but straight gut feeling normally tells a truth, especially if you know your area, and those next door and opposite to where you live.

It's really easy to peer through a window, watching people leave for vacation and use that as an opportunity to take others items. Especially considering some of the items required a larger vehicle, this does not sound like someone on foot breaking in, in the middle of the night.

I find it really hard to believe a larger vehicle was not seen by anyone either next door and or across the street moving your items into it?!

As for the lock, even though it seems like no forced entry, id imagine a garage lock isn't the most complex of locks to pick, and if this were a thief who knows what they are doing, this is their choice of work and just like yourself and the rest of us, they too are proficient in what they do.

Despite what I write, I truly hope you do not do anything on impulse and head on over and confront this guy. You don't know what they or their friends are capable of. At least this was not carried out whilst people were at home and in turn injured or worse.

I think it's safe to perhaps drive over to a local pawn shop and check out their wares as normally these are fenced at these kind of places and or check on an online trading post kind of forum, I do not know what you guys have in your area but websites like trading post and I see you have a Gumtree, link below.

http://www.gumtree.com/all/belfast

http://belfast.stuff4sale.eu/

Best of luck mate and again, really sorry to hear the bad news.

Mika.

[Jeremy Festa]

So sorry to hear this mate!

My car was stolen from within my locked garage about a month ago, so I feel your pain.

It happened while my family were sleeping, and I didn't sleep right for a week or two after it happened.

The whole thing is a very embarrassing story, but I will divulge so you know you're not alone.

I am currently restoring two old wooden school desks in my garage, one from the '50's and another from the '60's. Classic little furniture pieces. One is for my daughter and the other for my nephew. So for the duration of this little project, only one bay in the garage can be used for parking cars, and so whoever got home first out of my wife and I would park in the garage, and the other would park in the driveway.

By chance, my wife forgot to lock her car, mostly out of habit, when arriving home and just parking in a secure garage, but also, there were some bulky grocery items in the boot, which she left for me to collect when I got home. Now the thieves used the garage remote controls in her unlocked car to open the garage, and steal my car.

In reality, my wife's car is a much more desirable target, as it is black, and mine is bright red, as it is my company car. It's fully signwritten and is a moving billboard, so to speak. But she keeps her keys in her handbag, and mine were on the hook in the supposed secure garage.

So I came down in the morning to go to work and the garage was open and no car there.

Massive surprise to say the least.

Police were absolutely terrible with minimal assistance throughout the affair. They did send a forensic officer around to print my wife’s car as they had opened all her doors and rummaged through it. He said they had been targeting the area recently and it is just a numbers game. They try to open every door in each street, and sooner or later one is left unlocked. Six more cars were stolen from my neighbourhood in the following week. Similar situation to you, as it is one of the nicest areas to live in Brisbane. And as such, has become a bit of a target.

I have no advice to offer other than, pairing those Quai D’Orsay Superiores with Guinness is the awesomest

[Blakes]

Sorry to hear about the burglary.

I echo what "Paul3" said, I wouldn't get into any confrontation it could make things a whole lot worse, especially without any evidence it was your neighbour.

To just respond to what "NJP" I think you give "dealers" to much credit.. They are always looking for a quick buck, all it would of took was to get a friend/acquaintance to carry out the burglary for a cut.

One thing I would suggest is tracking the guitars down, does your Dad have the serial numbers? Unless the thief/thieves know someone who plays guitar, there is a high chance they will turn up in local music shops or on ebay, and by the sounds of it your dad seems to be part of the local music scene, putting the word out will help if they get sold on locally. Guitar players have a knack of remembering guitars you'd be surprised how many stolen guitars resurface, usually with unsuspecting new owners.. but it could help track down the culprits.

I hope you mange to get some if not all your stuff back. And you find out which "moderated" did this.

[stogieluver]

Reading your story just about makes me sick to my stomach. I recently had a couple of pistols stolen out of my vehicle. One of them had belonged to my Dad and had a real sentimental value. I can't imagine how it makes you feel to have all of that stolen. I'm sorry this happened to you, and I know you must be very, very, angry. I would want to kill the sorry low down sob who did that. But please take a minute every now and then and take a deep breath and don't do anything you might regret later. Don't let it consume you.

[Drguano]

Hi Stevie,

I am sorry to hear that you were robbed. My house has been hit a couple of times and I felt violated. Eventually I came to realize it was all stuff that was taken and none of us was hurt. Stuff can be replaced. Your things might turn up again. Thieving is bad karma and bad things will come to those who practice it. Try to let it go and not let it drag at you.

Peter

[dicko]

Really sorry to hear mate.

[coblos]

What about an anonymous tip off that he's dealing drugs? May lead the police to searching his house.

[SeeGar]

Ahrrgg.. There is a place in Hell where the flames burn extra hot for the people who steal musical instruments and hand tools.

When I lived in Montreal there was a view among musicians that hot instruments were cursed, and would never play properly again. No one I know would touch them.

Very sorry to hear this, CohibaStevie. I hope you and your family won't let the aggrevation blight you. The thieves will have horrible lives, to be sure.

If you don't mind a suggestion, upgrade your locks and alarm system. Maybe install a camera. They are cheap these days. Return visits are not unknown.

[Tino]

Really sorry to hear this Stevie. Can't offer much that's constructive I'm afraid, but if you have the serial numbers and photos of the Strats I'd distribute them to music shops/pawn shops etc. No one reputable should touch them. I'd also second the idea of keeping an eye out on Gumtree and similar websites.

[canadianbeaver]

So sorry to hear about this. Hope you get some stuff back soon.

[laficion]

So sorry to hear about all of this bro. Hope everyone is alright and that you will find some things .

[Cohiba Stevie]

Thanks for all the kind words of support guys, it really means a lot.

I've been trawling through the likes of gumtree and other buy and sell sites but so far no results.

I will post if there is any updates.

[Pilgrims]

Just horrible to read this. So sorry to hear about it. So glad nobody was hurt.

[Philski]

As for the lock, even though it seems like no forced entry, id imagine a garage lock isn't the most complex of locks to pick, and if this were a thief who knows what they are doing, this is their choice of work and just like yourself and the rest of us, they too are proficient in what they do.

Mika.

Steve,

Newbie here who has just joined, so I hope you don't mind me butting in here! However, I had a similar break-in about 10 years ago, and part of their haul was lifting my entire humidor which hurt even more than the other personal things, but I feel your pain.

The only constructive thing I can say is that my insurance company tried to dismiss my claim because the two dead-bolt locks hadn't been broken (they drilled out my Banham lock though, so clearly a professional job), and my policy stipulated that all three locks had to be locked/broken into for a burglary claim to be considered. My initial response was that, being a very likely professional theft, the two dead-bolt locks could have been picked whist the other lock was being drilled out. I spent a year fighting my corner on this, not changing my story, but re-iterating my point calmly and unwaveringly. Loss adjusters tried to weasel out in any way they could, including trying to say that these locks could only be picked from the inside, and not from outside! Eventually they had to pay out (handsomely, too...), as they were unable to disprove what I was telling them.

None of this can replace your lost personal possessions, but at least a decent cash settlement might help. Get a plausible explanation for why your garage appears not have been broken into, stick to the story and don't waver - the locked/unlocked issue seems to be the only thing that might stop them from paying out.

Wishing you the best of luck with it.

[shiva13]

What about an anonymous tip off that he's dealing drugs? May lead the police to searching his house.

X2

Sorry for your trouble man.

[dangolf18]

I agree with Coblos and Shiva though I don't think its that wise to begin something with a drug dealer.

[Puros Y Vino]

I can sympathize with you . About five years ago we returned from vacation only to find our sidelight had been smashed open and the door was easily unlocked. Cash and jewellery was the main target for the thief. Cellphones, laptops, computers were passed on. In all we lost $3000 worth. Fortunately, the house wasn't trashed. The culprit was in/out fast. Our only thought is the cab driver who took us to the airport probably made shady friend aware of our empty house. Since then when we go away I call a cab to a different address and schlep our suitcases there.

The worst part wasn't the loss of goods. Except for the fact the insurance company only gave us half the value since we didn't have records/receipts for the jewellery. The worst part was feeling uneasy in my own home for about two years afterwards. Every bump in the night, every creaking window pane had me reaching for the Louisville Slugger.

Don't wrack your brains too much over the shady neighbor. Sure it could be him, but proving it will be tough. And if you haven't figured it out. The police are of no help. There's not much they can do other than file a report so you can go deal with the insurance company. At least yours dusted for prints. Ours pretty much told us all they can do is put the word out to pawn shops to look out for items matching what was stolen from us.

[cigcars]

I can tell you as retired law enforcement, we ALL say we'd love to let people who want to dope up, etc. go right ahead. We don't want to waste all our time incarcerating people for what they are GOING to do on their own and to themselves, just like over-eating, or drinking too much, etc. WE WANT TO HAVE TIME TO GO AFTER PEOPLE WHO BREAK INTO YOUR HOUSE; STEALING WHAT YOU BOUGHT; WHAT YOU WENT OUT & WORKED AND PAID FOR, while you're away at work or on vacation. Our home was burglarized a year ago (they entered by pulling out the window air conditioner) and stole my brother's electric guitar and keyboards. We do believe we know who it was...my cigars were not touched (WHEW!) I know I'd have been a basket case then! While it is very disheartening and can leave you ill at ease, you can rest your mind on one thing: people like this WILL GET THEIRS. They always do. In the meantime I'm very glad for you that the moderators left this up so that you can know that ALL of us in your Friends of Habanos community are with you, behind you, and will be here to share your anger, be many shoulders for you to hang onto, and to let you know we love and support you all the way. "May the scumbags who did this end up with their crotches infested with the fleas from the humps of a thousand camels, and their arms be too short to scratch!" - old Arab curse

[CanuckSARTech]

Agreed with Frank and Janet. It's unfortunately a very uphill type of investigation. Agreed, yes, your police service dusted for prints, and did some initial work. A good thing there, and yes, keep an eye on eBay, Kijiji, pawn shops, etc. The usual timeline for these types to try to hock this stuff off is either within literally the first day or two, or after about a month or two if they're smarter.

If you find them / find out who did this, don't lower yourself to their level. Let the police handle it.

And sorry....while I'm for hire, the flight cost would be too prohibitive. LOL.

[paulF]

Sorry for your loss mate

Just like other posters said, keep cool and try to to put your emotions at bay which i understand can be extremely hard to do in such a situation.

I think the advice of checking online sites like gumtree and ebay constantly for awhile is a very good one and leave things for the police to deal with.

Let's hope for the best.