My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me • Hacker News Board

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#81

Post by wooter » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 5:01 PM UTC

CapitalistCartr wrote: post #75

wooter wrote: post #68

I wouldn't have contributed to putting a guy who is engaged and about to have a child in jail for 2 years (which would probably piss a lot of people off) and then posted the whole story, in intimate detail, on a popular site, tied to my real identity. The story is entertaining but the guy lost a lot more than her and it seems pretty foolish to tell the world it was because of her. If the guy uses craigslist, myspace,…

He committed the crimes; he is responsible for the consequences. He knew he had a pregnant girlfriend, and chose to not care. To let someone continue on a destructive path against the community around him isn't dong anyone any favors, not him, his girlfriend, or his child.

Doesn't mean its not going to piss him and his family off that this woman went to those lengths to make it happen. You can't deny that people have strong, sometimes irrational, emotions. Anonymizing the story wouldn't have made it any less interesting and protected her from any retaliation (from him or friends; even a brick through the window would be a pain to deal with).

Not to mention she does take a few jabs at the guy and his potential girlfriend, saying they look sleazy/neo-nazi/etc.

Not saying what she did is wrong, just saying that clearly identifying herself as the one responsible for his punishment (clearly identifying him too) isn't the smartest move for her safety.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#82

Post by TallGuyShort » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 5:26 PM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #80

tyn wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What money? He could ask a favor from his buddies, provided of course he has the same revengeful mentality as the victim. This is quite unlikely but still works as a deterrent for many people that would otherwise take similar actions as the victim. A solution to this problem might help in the battle against crime. Just to give an idea, something like an e-testimony with a digital certification that can be connected t…

So his friend is going to risk 20 years in prison just to get revenge? This guy has already been in prison; he got caught stealing and was sent back to finish his first sentence. Not everyone is the mafia don that you see on Law & Order. This guy probably has no connections and no money. Which means he has to do his dirty work himself. And after two years in prison, I doubt a direct ticket back is his first priority.

Statistics would argue with you. Most sources put the proportion of repeat violent crime offenders at around 60%.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#83

Post by carussell » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:07 PM UTC

TheAmazingIdiot wrote: post #63

retube wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Snarks would point out that this was overkill, that insurance would have covered most of it (most of it was recovered anyway) and self-sleuthing can lead to dangerous situations. Possibly true. But nothing is as cathartic as personally tracking down the person that wronged you.

What are you going to do? Kill them? Maim them? Bring it out in blood equity? Or some sort of "bringing them to justice?" Its just stuff. You never know what the motivations they had for doing it. It could have done all sorts of good, at a cost of some personal sacrifice. Is it wrong? Society says so. But personal "justice" is just as extreme. And yes, I have had things stolen from me.

You never know what the motivations they had for doing it. It could have done all sorts of good, at a cost of some personal sacrifice.

Or the person could be serial thief relying on the stolen goods to avoid work and with an aptitude to participate in other criminal activities. Just like he was.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#84

Post by ergo98 » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:14 PM UTC

tyn wrote: post #48

jrockway wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You watch too much TV. Where's he going to get the money? That GPS he stole didn't resell for much...

What money? He could ask a favor from his buddies, provided of course he has the same revengeful mentality as the victim. This is quite unlikely but still works as a deterrent for many people that would otherwise take similar actions as the victim. A solution to this problem might help in the battle against crime. Just to give an idea, something like an e-testimony with a digital certification that can be connected t…

A guy who is ripping off backpacks from unlocked cars isn't in the mafia or the Yakuza: He doesn't have a group of thugs to call upon. And I doubt he takes it terribly personally -- rip people off and you'll get burned eventually. Acting hurt and vindictive about it seems pretty foolish.

I'm extremely surprised that the police paid any attention to this: Keeping valuables -- well, not really valuables -- in an unlocked car...that just doesn't fit the bill of the sort of crime that the police will even show up to your place for a statement. That the officer(s) actually put in legwork, and the justice system carried out a sentence, makes it almost hard to believe.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#85

Post by ergo98 » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:17 PM UTC

varjag wrote: post #24

danbmil99 wrote: post #21

I'm all for vengeance but it just seems ironic and unfortunate that Johnny Boi will almost inevitably get out of prison sometime in the next 2 years more hardened and better equipped to be a complete fuckup, undoubtedly progressing to even stupider but possibly more violent and disruptive crimes. Just saying.

So, the better option for dealing this thief would be...?

Community service. Monitored parole. Work programs...

The guy stole a backpack from an unlocked car with visual valuables. Police in my area once tried to make it a crime to have visible valuables inside of a vehicle, locked or not, because it encouraged crimes of opportunity by casual criminals. It essentially wasted their time.

This guy wasn't going to pass the car by and then decide to murder an old lady.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#86

Post by stretchwithme » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:29 PM UTC

I'm appreciative of the author's efforts in nailing this guy, as it makes the bay area a little safer for everybody.

I'm rather tired of reading about these career criminals on parole victimizing hardworking citizens, while others who haven't harmed anyone or stolen anything sit in prison.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#87

Post by Gormo » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:31 PM UTC

jakevoytko wrote: post #56

This highlights the value of contingency planning and tenacity. With the suspect's photo in the McDonald's, the police might have been able to find him, and convict him for possession of stolen property, especially with his criminal history. But the author wasn't done! She turned his email address into his complete online identity. This provided an extra link to the crime, the stolen GPS, and some extra supporting in…

Does this illustrate the value of contingency planning, though?

It doesn't seem as though the author had any prior experience tracking down a thief, or that she was executing a pre-existing plan when she eventually needed to.

Instead, she relied on her adaptability and her general base of knowledge to deal with a new contingency as it arose, without advance preparation.

If anything, the lesson here is to maintain your capacity to decide and act on the fly, and make use of whatever opportunities the situation affords, instead of trying to predict the unpredictable.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#88

Post by SoftwareMaven » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:32 PM UTC

TheAmazingIdiot wrote: post #63

retube wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Snarks would point out that this was overkill, that insurance would have covered most of it (most of it was recovered anyway) and self-sleuthing can lead to dangerous situations. Possibly true. But nothing is as cathartic as personally tracking down the person that wronged you.

What are you going to do? Kill them? Maim them? Bring it out in blood equity? Or some sort of "bringing them to justice?" Its just stuff. You never know what the motivations they had for doing it. It could have done all sorts of good, at a cost of some personal sacrifice. Is it wrong? Society says so. But personal "justice" is just as extreme. And yes, I have had things stolen from me.

So you are saying it is OK to steal from me if your motives are pure? That's BS. Expecting people to obey the law is not "personal justice", it is just justice.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#89

Post by Gormo » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:38 PM UTC

Derferman wrote: post #8

VMG wrote: post #3

> I ran his e-mail address through a reverse e-mail finder, which cost me about 15 bucks for a month's worth of "surveillance." Can anyone enlighten me on what she means?

Rapleaf.com offers similar services. With just an email address you can find "Demographics, Influence, Interests, Social media memberships, Occupation, and much more."[1] [1]: http://www.rapleaf.com/developers/api_overview

Even more of a reason to use disposable email addresses.

Re: My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me

#90

Post by _delirium » Tue, Sep 21, 2010, 6:38 PM UTC

brc wrote: post #60

tome wrote: post #31

FWIW, this is completely the opposite of what pg suggests: http://paulgraham.com/top.html Turning the other cheek turns out to have selfish advantages. Someone who does you an injury hurts you twice: first by the injury itself, and second by taking up your time afterward thinking about it. If you learn to ignore injuries you can at least avoid the second half. I've found I can to some extent avoid thinking about nast…

You'd need clarification from pg himself, but I always took that more metaphorically and in a business/startup sense. I think there is a certain amount of personal strength to be gained from going vigilante on a small time crook and turning them over to the cops. We feel best when we feel the most control over our personal circumstances.

Yeah, especially in context (discussing Newton getting sucked into the age-of-letters equivalent of flamewars), it seems to refer more to turning the other cheek when people attack your work, post unpleasant replies on an email thread, maybe even copy your startup ideas, etc., rather than turning the other cheek when someone burglarizes your house.