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ThinkInsane · May 21, 2005, 01:07 PM

And gives the cops the burglar they hadn't been able to catch. Cool.

BOWIE, Md. -- She's not a detective, but a woman from Bowie, Md., helped solve a series of burglaries that had frustrated police.

According to police reports, someone threw a concrete patio block through the sliding glass door of Karen's Todd's home in Bowie, Md., and took a laptop computer and an Apple iPod she had given her husband for Christmas.
FeedRoom

Bowie Woman Solves Burglaries

Not long afterward, Todd said she logged onto eBay and almost screamed when she found an iPod that looked just like her husband's, down to the unique custom inscription on the back.
Todd said she called police and detectives contacted eBay and were led to the owner of a sports memorabilia store in Beltsville, Md.
Investigators said they found Todd's property and were eventually led to 21-year-old Ibrahina Toure, who is facing 10 counts of first-degree burglary.
"I can tell you that it's led to the definite closure of 11 burglaries and the recovery of over $18,000 in property taken from those burglaries," said Prince George's County police Lt. John Hipps.
He also said it might help police to close 50 other break-ins.
Police said the owner of the store said he did not know the items were stolen. Authorities said he is cooperating.

http://www.nbc4.com/news/4497160/detail.html

Cody Dawg · May 21, 2005, 01:15 PM

That's a great story. "Ibrahina" sounds like a woman's name?

I hope she goes to jail for a very long time. People like that are terrible.

wdlove · May 21, 2005, 01:15 PM

Congratulations to the Bowie woman as a crime fighter.

ae77 · May 21, 2005, 01:15 PM

Awesome.

JustAnOl'Broad · May 21, 2005, 01:19 PM

Brilliant.
Makes you wish the cops had the time and $ to have someone
do "searches" on Ebay for stolen items like this.
(especially personal items with monograms; laptops with
personal info, etc.)
P~

MilkmanDan · May 21, 2005, 01:41 PM

eBay is like a sleazy pawn shop for stolen goods from around the world.

MrForgetable · May 22, 2005, 02:12 AM

which is why I will never buy anything on ebay

tooki · May 22, 2005, 11:52 AM

What kind of dumb thief sells a custom-engraved gadget on eBay?!?

That's almost as dumb as a recent Baltimore car thief who was caught when his stolen car went missing -- the real owner of the stolen car found it just a few blocks away and reclaimed it, and the dumb thief called the cops to report it stolen.

tooki

RGB · May 22, 2005, 12:32 PM

I've checked eBay several times for the iPod stolen from me three or four weeks ago. No such luck

brapper · May 22, 2005, 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by RGB

I've checked eBay several times for the iPod stolen from me three or four weeks ago. No such luck

brutal. Good luck to you

ghporter · May 22, 2005, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by MrForgetable

which is why I will never buy anything on ebay

The incidence of stolen property on eBay is quite small. What is far more common is "hype" marketing; advertising something as being more/better/newer than it is by implying it's something it's not. "Caveat emptor" is more than just a catch phrase with any eBay transaction.

I'm VERY glad that the family got their iPod (and presumably their laptop) back, and that their information helped nail (I like the sound of that word here!) the thief. Having been burglarized in a apartment many years ago, I can tell you that it is a violation very close to that when someone is assaulted; it preys on you for a LONG time afterward, and you don't feel safe anywhere. Ever try showering in a place where you don't feel safe? Capturing the thief should make every one of his/her (?) victims feel MUCH better.

ManOfSteal · May 22, 2005, 01:18 PM

ghporter · May 22, 2005, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by ManOfSteal

"?"

TailsToo · May 22, 2005, 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

That's almost as dumb as a recent Baltimore car thief who was caught when his stolen car went missing -- the real owner of the stolen car found it just a few blocks away and reclaimed it, and the dumb thief called the cops to report it stolen.

tooki

Randman · May 22, 2005, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by MrForgetable

which is why I will never buy anything on ebay

And here I was thinking I was one of the only people in the world with a computer who's never bought anything on eBay, never sold anything on eBay and never bid on anything on eBay.

ghporter · May 22, 2005, 06:44 PM

At the vet's office on Friday, while waiting for our dogs' nail trims, we read an interesting story about a burglar, or at least a "could have been" burglar.

The lady of the house woke up in the middle of the night on hearing a crash, then a human scream-followed by silence. Their cat, who usually sleeps on the foot of the bed, was missing from her normal place. When the lady got downstairs, she found an open window, a bag of tools and ONE shoe. The cat was there too, all bristled. There was blood on the window sill, and blood-human blood-on the cat's mouth. The police found a unique trail leading away from the open window: sock-shoe, sock-shoe... They credit the cat for foiling the burglary attempt. And the cat is blind, too. Not a "dumb burglar" story, but at least yet another crime was averted.

Superchicken · May 22, 2005, 09:11 PM

I'm glad... anyone who takes someone else's property like that is scummy... you should work for what you get in this life. If someone chooses to give you something of their own that's one thing, but to take without permission... is just... grr...

karent · 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by wdlove

Congratulations to the Bowie woman as a crime fighter.

Thanks! I'm glad I found the ipod. All the music was wiped off as well as the library on the laptop, so we started from scratch. We're up to 3700 songs now.

BTW, the thief was a guy.

I think the ebay seller didn't know what an inscribed iPod looked like, I mean the writing was the same as the model number, etc., that's on the back.

k-

ort888 · May 23, 2005, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

What kind of dumb thief sells a custom-engraved gadget on eBay?!?

It wasn't the thief. The thief sold it to a shop which then sold it on ebay.

Cody Dawg · May 23, 2005, 10:15 AM

Why doesn't Timbuktu or another company make a software for the iPod that works the same as the software for the PowerBook or laptop computer that is stolen: Once someone uses it in connection with going online it "phones home" and lets the person know where it is.

tooki · May 23, 2005, 11:01 AM

Glad to hear you got your stuff back, karent. And just as glad that the scumbag is caught, since he'd probably have kept on doing the same to others.

tooki

Stradlater · May 23, 2005, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

"Ibrahina" sounds like a woman's name?

What does this have to do with anything?

turtle777 · May 24, 2005, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

That's almost as dumb as a recent Baltimore car thief who was caught when his stolen car went missing -- the real owner of the stolen car found it just a few blocks away and reclaimed it, and the dumb thief called the cops to report it stolen.

tooki

Mwahahaha. Great.

-t

turtle777 · May 24, 2005, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

Why doesn't Timbuktu or another company make a software for the iPod that works the same as the software for the PowerBook or laptop computer that is stolen: Once someone uses it in connection with going online it "phones home" and lets the person know where it is.

Maybe because it is NOT possible that an iPod initiates a call home without software being installed on the host computer ?

-t

ThinkInsane · May 24, 2005, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Maybe because it is NOT possible that an iPod initiates a call home without software being installed on the host computer ?

-t

Apple needs to offer LoJack as an option for the iPod

karent, nice work. Glad you got your stuff back. Maybe you could parlay this into an iPod recovery business