Truck Stolen

[flyboyjake]

just had my truck stolen tonight. I live in a nice part of a Denver metro area in Colorado. The dodge ram diesel was stolen from my driveway. I heard it start, grabbed my gun and a flashlight and ran outside. It was well down the road and I didnt have an ability to chase it. I called the poloce, told them the type and color, which way it went, and tag numbers. They could not find it and speculate its on its way to Mexico as another ram diesel was stolen within 5 minutes of mine less than a mile away.

You are in my shoes, and you were able to get to the driveway before they entered the truck. What do you do? I have a maglight in one hand, and a glock 23 in the other.

I know the criticisms about it, but I am going to buy a laser/flashlight combo for the under rail. I would not have shot the man unless he presented a weapon or charged me, but I have no problem displaying my weapon to make a point in a situation like this.

I liked that truck heck, maybe I would have shot him after all...the bastard...At least she will go on to live a lucrative and fulfilling life in the drug trade...

[freenokia]

Man that sucks...I would have gone after him on foot. At least till I had a good shot at the tires. Yeah, that's my MO. Chase him down, shoot out the tires, wait for him to bail, hold him at gun point till the police get there

really though, what could you do?

[Ryder]

If I lived in a place where people were stealing vehicles out of driveways on a regular basis I would definately install a hidden breaker switch for the battery.

[Crazy88Fingers]

A few years back I was pulling into the driveway at about 3AM and I noticed the tailgate on my father's F-150 had sprouted legs and walked away in the midst of the night. Our neighborhood is no where near "that side" of the tracks. It doesn't compare to your situation, but the point is that every now and then some bad guys go out of their way to get ya. There really was nothing you could have done unless you had another car to try and track them down in and phone it into the police.

As mentioned, a kill switch is always a good idea. A good alarm doesn't hurt either (though it doesn't always help).

By the way, all you F-150 owners, it takes about 30 seconds to remove the tailgate on some of those trucks. Beware.

[MLeake]

... but as far as tailgate theft goes, I used to have a "Pop-a-Lock" on my Z71's tailgate, some years back. I'd recommend those for any truck that does not have a locking tailgate.

[Dwight55]

Stolen stuff, . . . that's why we buy insurance.

I love my little red Jeep Liberty, . . . but I will not put rounds down range over it getting stolen. Far too much danger of that bullet hitting the wrong person.

Cousin's husband did that with a .44 Mag Super Blackhawk some years back: "I thought I could shoot out the punkin" was his plea. He hit a teenager, paralyzed him for life.

Just ain't worth it.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Ronbert]

Truck might not actually be going to Mexico.
Friend of mine had his truck stolen and it was paid off and gone for 6 months.
Later it turned up in a farm field where it had all the signs of having been doing farm work for those months.

It's times like these where you wish you could rig your vehicle to be like a "bait car" so you just actuate the shutdown and lockdown gear and call the cops.

Sure wish it was legal to shoot them while they are within sight - but it's not.

[jhenry]

A hidden fuel shut off switch is not difficult to install. If someone steals it they get a mile or so and it just dies. With a fuel injected rig it just won't start.

[MrGaryFish]

A decent alarm has a starter kill that, when triggered, immobilizes the vehicle. IMHO, worth the few hundred bucks. Good luck getting it back or replaced.

[SwampYankee]

Man that sucks...I would have gone after him on foot. At least till I had a good shot at the tires. Yeah, that's my MO. Chase him down, shoot out the tires, wait for him to bail, hold him at gun point till the police get there

I do hope the smiley face means this was a sarcastic comment. As Dwight55 points out, unloading your firearm in the middle of the street in order to regain stolen property is generally frowned upon for a myriad of reasons...

Bummer about the truck though. I've never had a car stolen, does insurance cover that?

[Eagle Eye]

It's times like these where you wish you could rig your vehicle to be like a "bait car" so you just actuate the shutdown and lockdown gear and call the cops.

OnStar takes care of that for me. You give them a call and they shut it down. Lowers your insurance premium with some companies too. It is expensive, but for my $50k car it is worth it and has some other advantages.

[Eagle0711]

In our town a few years back a fellow heard his VW start up at 3:00AM. He jumped out of bed and chased the theif in his other car. He managed to stop the guy, but he had no gun. He was stabbed and killed. He had a wife and small children.

The lessons here seem obvious.

[flyboyjake]

Have insurance, but will still be a hefty sum out of pocket. You know how insurance companies are...

I wont touch onstar. I dont want anyone to be able to know where I am at a whim, although id love to install some proprietary GPS tracking system so that I can find it

I think ill install a battery switch on the next one. And a a mounted machine gun on my garage...the poor neighborhood animals

[Moondew]

"tracking system"

LOJACK http://www.lojack.com/

[BRE346]

I'm not asking what you paid for it

How badly do you need it? Is it your livelihood? Chasing it down the street is a bad idea. Shooting at it is a bad idea.

Following it in another vehicle is better because you can tell the cops where it is right now. You did bring your cell didn't you.

Better yet is the kill switch. The if you get out of bed because the starter is grinding you have a chance to stick a gun in the thief's ear.

Best is the kill switch and looking out the window while you talk to 911.

IMHO

[rcoe]

How new was this truck?

Most of the newer dodges have coded keys that are not exactly easy to bypass.

[flyboyjake]

it was a 98'. No broken glass, but it was locked. Cop thinks they use "dummy keys".

[freenokia]

I do hope the smiley face means this was a sarcastic comment. As Dwight55 points out, unloading your firearm in the middle of the street in order to regain stolen property is generally frowned upon for a myriad of reasons...

Bummer about the truck though. I've never had a car stolen, does insurance cover that?

I don't do sarcasm. I find it rude and classless. My comment is what is known as being facetious..

That being said--I would have tore out on foot & If a Safe shot to the tire presented itself, I probably would have taken it.

[Tactical Jackalope]

Happened way back when I had a 1990 Toyota Celica GT-S 5speed with all the rims and that stuff.


However...I have a lease now. And it goes back the end of April. I'd let them take it probably. I'd get heated though. Must admit....maybe if it's more than one I may do something stupid. I'd feel threatened and they'd feel like my house and stuff in it are for the taking......



Yeah, actually screw that..I would possibly confront right after I call the police give them my name, address, inform I have a CCW, tell them what I'm wearing and how many perps there are. Then CONFRONT (most likely) cause if you think about it, they will be back eventually. You ARE an easy target to them.





All in all, it is up in the air....and depends on the EXACT situation. I gave both ways I'd go given those circumstances.

On the laws point of view you are supposedly in the wrong for confronting the theirs who are NOT in your home. Just outside. Their fight would be, to call the police and stand down.

This all depends so much on the situation.

[m17s_guy]

car/home owners/renters insurance = call allstate.

life insurance = barricade and flip the safety off.....

sorry to hear about your truck, you will probably never find it, nor ever hear a word from the police.

as an above poster said, do a quick look around at your house and make sure it is secure, well lit, and you dont have anything sitting outside you dont want coming up missing.

it is true that thieves have the habit of hitting the "easy" targets, and then coming back again. at least in my neck of the woods.

[Powderman]

I highly recommend LoJack--it has a VERY high recovery rate. There are numerous instances where the system is triggered upon unlawful entry or starting of the vehicle, and the vehicle is recovered BEFORE the owner even knows it was stolen!

Best defenses?

1. This one might seem like a no-brainer to some--but if you have a garage--USE IT TO PARK YOUR VEHICLES IN! I know, a lot of folks ue the garage as a storage site--but put your cars in it!

2. LOCK YOUR GARAGE!!!
3. If you must park it outside, and you have a fenced yard, put up a heavy duty gate and secure that sucker at night with some 3/8th chain. I would also look into some IR sensors/motion detectors that will sound an alarm, with the beam right at your entryway.

Older vehicles are more susceptible to "shaved keys", a common burglar/thief's tool to gain entry.

[ClayInTx]

To prevent tailgate theft you must do what we do around here. Forget the tailgate is down and back into a tree. No one steals it after that because it now matches the one Bubba already has.

No vehicle is safe from theft; except my old rusty pickup with a good tire.

No vehicle is worth a gun fight to save. You CAN get full replacement value insurance, which costs a bit more but insurance is already an expense you hope not to use.

[SwampYankee]

If a Safe shot to the tire presented itself, I probably would have taken it

Clearly you don't do common sense either as even a "safe shot" is going to be breaking the laws in a number of ways and probably get you charged with a bunch of different violations ranging from discharge of a firearm within city limits to attempted murder. Most town/city/county attorney's get a little flustered when people start opening fire in the street.

[freenokia]

Clearly you don't do common sense either as even a "safe shot" is going to be breaking the laws in a number of ways and probably get you charged with a bunch of different violations ranging from discharge of a firearm within city limits to attempted murder. Most town/city/county attorney's get a little flustered when people start opening fire in the street.

if a man's in my vehicle, he's armed. Clear and simple. That's grand theft auto (felony) & possession of a firearm during a felony (forcible).

[MLeake]

... you claim to be in Georgia.

A forcible felony in your home would afford you Castle Doctrine protections. Similarly, if you were in your vehicle when somebody tried to force their way into it, you'd be pretty safe (legally) as far as using force to defend yourself.

That is not the same as witnessing somebody making off with your truck.

Last I checked, GA is not a state that allows use of deadly force to regain property. (I'm not a lawyer, but I am a GA resident, and that's how I understand our laws on the issue.)

Pretty sure the OP, up in the Denver area, also would not be in a good position with the law if he discharged a firearm in hopes of regaining property.