Victim of robbery charged with felony

[Oxbow6]

Per the Fargo Forum...a 23 year old Mapleton man steals a truck. The owner of the truck, a 57 year old Davenport man, tracks down the thief in the his stolen truck and confronts the thief. The thief trys to make a run for it and the man/victim is able to run him down and subdue him after he "beats" him with a metal pipe that he grab from his stolen truck. The thief is charged with a Class C felony for stealing the truck and the victim of the crime is also charged with a Class C felony for assault. Is this what we have become as a society?? Seems to be that those that committ crimes are increasingly getting more rights than the victims of those crimes. If you steal someone else's property and are caught by the individual that you stole from IMO a beatdown should be at the very least what you have coming.

[Oxbow6]

My bad in title of thread...this wasn't a robbery. It was theft.

[Bison Dan]

Per the Fargo Forum...a 23 year old Mapleton man steals a truck. The owner of the truck, a 57 year old Davenport man, tracks down the thief in the his stolen truck and confronts the thief. The thief trys to make a run for it and the man/victim is able to run him down and subdue him after he "beats" him with a metal pipe that he grab from his stolen truck. The thief is charged with a Class C felony for stealing the truck and the victim of the crime is also charged with a Class C felony for assault. Is this what we have become as a society?? Seems to be that those that committ crimes are increasingly getting more rights than the victims of those crimes. If you steal someone else's property and are caught by the individual that you stole from IMO a beatdown should be at the very least what you have coming.

Should give the guy a medal. Some prosecutors are out of control. They only want the police to beat down low lifes.

[darell1976]

That's BS!!!! The thief should be in jail and the victim should be given a thank you from the police station for capturing him and giving him a little reminder not to that again.

[JohnboyND7]

Give the man a medal! And weekly spot on ESPN's "Cold Hard Lead Pipe Locks"on Sundays.

[TBR]

As a generality, It is an inevitability that at some point a line will have to be drawn between proactivity as descibed above and vigilantism, and its a line that is fraught with inherent vagarity.

[MafiaMan]

That's BS!!!! The thief should be in jail and the victim should be given a thank you from the police station for capturing him and giving him a little reminder not to that again.

Oh no, not in today's society. The victim should have just let the thief go and wait for police and 'the system' to handle the whole situation.

Several years ago, I had my credit card number punched back into the system at a sub shop in St Paul by an employee who took $100+ cash out of the till after ringing up an equivalent amount on my card after I had left the store. I called to inquire about the charge - the store owner blew me off by saying I must have 'forgotten' to record a party-sub purchase that I had made. A week went by and I got a call back from the same manager - five additional parties had contacted her with the exact same complaint. Another week went by and a St Paul police officer interviewed me - the employee had been arrested for felony theft. The evidence was overwhelming - in-house video showing that he was the only employee working on each of the specific days and times of the reported thefts, video showing him on sandwich-making detail and not cashiering but somehow finding a way to use the credit card machine after a break in the action six separate times and open the cash drawer within minutes after each victim leaving the store and taking out money. The investigator said the suspect didn't say a word and was booked into jail. A 'slam-dunk' case if ever there was one, he said. Six months later, without ever having been contacted by the County Attorney's Office, I looked into court records (public information, of course) and found that the case had been dismissed at pre-trial due to 'insufficient evidence to prosecute.' The Ramsey County Attorney's Office did not respond to the scathing e-mail I sent them. American 'justice' in the 2000's...just like this case in your area.

[darell1976]

Oh no, not in today's society. The victim should have just let the thief go and wait for police and 'the system' to handle the whole situation.

Several years ago, I had my credit card number punched back into the system at a sub shop in St Paul by an employee who took $100+ cash out of the till after ringing up an equivalent amount on my card after I had left the store. I called to inquire about the charge - the store owner blew me off by saying I must have 'forgotten' to record a party-sub purchase that I had made. A week went by and I got a call back from the same manager - five additional parties had contacted her with the exact same complaint. Another week went by and a St Paul police officer interviewed me - the employee had been arrested for felony theft. The evidence was overwhelming - in-house video showing that he was the only employee working on each of the specific days and times of the reported thefts, video showing him on sandwich-making detail and not cashiering but somehow finding a way to use the credit card machine after a break in the action six separate times and open the cash drawer within minutes after each victim leaving the store and taking out money. The investigator said the suspect didn't say a word and was booked into jail. A 'slam-dunk' case if ever there was one, he said. Six months later, without ever having been contacted by the County Attorney's Office, I looked into court records (public information, of course) and found that the case had been dismissed at pre-trial due to 'insufficient evidence to prosecute.' The Ramsey County Attorney's Office did not respond to the scathing e-mail I sent them. American 'justice' in the 2000's...just like this case in your area.

The system is so flawed and f'd up, the criminals have more rights than the rest of us.

[Oxbow6]

Oh no, not in today's society. The victim should have just let the thief go and wait for police and 'the system' to handle the whole situation.

Several years ago, I had my credit card number punched back into the system at a sub shop in St Paul by an employee who took $100+ cash out of the till after ringing up an equivalent amount on my card after I had left the store. I called to inquire about the charge - the store owner blew me off by saying I must have 'forgotten' to record a party-sub purchase that I had made. A week went by and I got a call back from the same manager - five additional parties had contacted her with the exact same complaint. Another week went by and a St Paul police officer interviewed me - the employee had been arrested for felony theft. The evidence was overwhelming - in-house video showing that he was the only employee working on each of the specific days and times of the reported thefts, video showing him on sandwich-making detail and not cashiering but somehow finding a way to use the credit card machine after a break in the action six separate times and open the cash drawer within minutes after each victim leaving the store and taking out money. The investigator said the suspect didn't say a word and was booked into jail. A 'slam-dunk' case if ever there was one, he said. Six months later, without ever having been contacted by the County Attorney's Office, I looked into court records (public information, of course) and found that the case had been dismissed at pre-trial due to 'insufficient evidence to prosecute.' The Ramsey County Attorney's Office did not respond to the scathing e-mail I sent them. American 'justice' in the 2000's...just like this case in your area.

Related to your situation, in June 2012 our home was burglarized when we were out of town for a soccer tourney. The Fargo PD did a great job AFTER I was able to piece together info from neighbors and basically tell them who did it, when it happened and how they gained access to our house. They were able to get evidence from pawn shops with ID log records and video. Two guys were convicted and one was already just released on parole a week ago.

[ScottM]

The system is so flawed and f'd up, the criminals have more rights than the rest of us.

How much "justice" are you willing to pay for? Courts and law enforcement are routinely short-changed as states and cities, and the feds, look to trim their budgets. The system isn't perfect, and never will be, but it does work most of the time.

[darell1976]

How much "justice" are you willing to pay for? Courts and law enforcement are routinely short-changed as states and cities, and the feds, look to trim their budgets. The system isn't perfect, and never will be, but it does work most of the time.

Its not all about money, its about loopholes, and judges giving light sentences. Close the loopholes, make the judges give harsher punishments and keep the scum from walking free.

[MafiaMan]

How much "justice" are you willing to pay for? Courts and law enforcement are routinely short-changed as states and cities, and the feds, look to trim their budgets.

The fed trimming its budget? Surely you jest...

I agree with darell as well...sentences handed down in St Paul for 'crimes' such as dog bites and dogs barking too much often mimic those of DUI and misdemeanor assault.

[fightingsioux4life]

Per the Fargo Forum...a 23 year old Mapleton man steals a truck. The owner of the truck, a 57 year old Davenport man, tracks down the thief in the his stolen truck and confronts the thief. The thief trys to make a run for it and the man/victim is able to run him down and subdue him after he "beats" him with a metal pipe that he grab from his stolen truck. The thief is charged with a Class C felony for stealing the truck and the victim of the crime is also charged with a Class C felony for assault. Is this what we have become as a society?? Seems to be that those that committ crimes are increasingly getting more rights than the victims of those crimes. If you steal someone else's property and are caught by the individual that you stole from IMO a beatdown should be at the very least what you have coming.

The guy that stole the truck is getting charged and will probably get convicted (unless the DA screws it up). The guy that chased him down took the law into his own hands and that cannot be tolerated or, even worse, rewarded. As for "criminals having more rights than the rest of us", we cannot abandon the principle of "innocent until proven guilty". If we hadn't followed that principle in the Travis Stay murder case, Stay would be in prison for life right now. There are reasons law enforcement tell us not to apprehend suspects on our own; one of them is that vigilante justice is not acceptable in our society. This isn't the world of NBC's "Revolution".

[Oxbow6]

The guy that stole the truck is getting charged and will probably get convicted (unless the DA screws it up). The guy that chased him down took the law into his own hands and that cannot be tolerated or, even worse, rewarded. As for "criminals having more rights than the rest of us", we cannot abandon the principle of "innocent until proven guilty". If we hadn't followed that principle in the Travis Stay murder case, Stay would be in prison for life right now. There are reasons law enforcement tell us not to apprehend suspects on our own; one of them is that vigilante justice is not acceptable in our society. This isn't the world of NBC's "Revolution".

We will have to agree to disagree on most of what you posted above. Innocent til proven guilty...yes but that doesn't apply here. "Revolution"...no. Taking matters in your own hands in an obvious situation like this...kudos to that gentleman and the beat down he administered.

Sometimes trash needs to be dealt with appropriately and hauled to the curb as it was in this situation.

[ScottM]

Its not all about money, its about loopholes, and judges giving light sentences. Close the loopholes, make the judges give harsher punishments and keep the scum from walking free.

Your "loophole" is often predicated on the fact that the evidence doesn't exist, is flawed and/or the cops screwed up, like the OJ case and arguably a recent one in GF. (Goddamn that Constitution!) Again, are you willing to pay more for the justice you think is missing?

That's not to say some convicts don't get awfully light sentences, like the pedophile teacher in Montana who was sentenced to 30 days for the forcible rape of a 14 year old. As for mandatory sentences, California is currently under a number of tederal court orders because its prisons are overflowing with nonviolent offenders who stepped over a "three strikes" provision. All of that prison build costs money.

[mg2009]

We will have to agree to disagree on most of what you posted above. Innocent til proven guilty...yes but that doesn't apply here. "Revolution"...no. Taking matters in your own hands in an obvious situation like this...kudos to that gentleman and the beat down he administered.

Sometimes trash needs to be dealt with appropriately and hauled to the curb as it was in this situation.

in which part of your story was the beating necessary? was the truck going to run off in the five minutes it would take to get the cops there? The beating was unnecessary and unjust, and absolutely illegal. Hopefully he serves a long term, much longer than the thief.

If you want to be a part of civilized society, you don't take justice into your own hands. This isn't the third world or some ghetto.

[fightingsioux4life]

We will have to agree to disagree on most of what you posted above. Innocent til proven guilty...yes but that doesn't apply here. "Revolution"...no. Taking matters in your own hands in an obvious situation like this...kudos to that gentleman and the beat down he administered.

Sometimes trash needs to be dealt with appropriately and hauled to the curb as it was in this situation.

Okay then, prod the Legislators that represent you in Bismarck (whomever they are) and get them to introduce a law authorizing vigilante justice in certain circumstances. This wasn't a case where someone was defending themselves from a knife attack or using a gun to stop a home invasion, this was pure vigilantism. Either we are a nation and society of laws or we aren't and if we allow people to commit crimes because somebody committed a crime against them first, we are encouraging Hatfield and McCoy type behavior.

There is a fine line between civilization and anarchy and this episode is proof positive of that. The "victim" in this case should be convicted and should do some serious time. But you can feel sorry for him if you want.

[fightingsioux4life]

Its not all about money, its about loopholes, and judges giving light sentences. Close the loopholes, make the judges give harsher punishments and keep the scum from walking free.

Might I remind you that the United States has the biggest prison population in the Western Industrialized world (2.5 million). Should we double it to 5 million? Would that make us all safer? No and no are the answers to those questions. As for "harsher punishments", we have tried mandatory minimum sentencing and all we have succeeded in doing is jailing non-violent drug offenders for 5, 10, 15 even 20 years and it hasn't stopped drugs from being bought and sold. We need to shift our policy towards non-violent drug users from jail time to drug treatment. Then we'll have room for the really dangerous people in our society.

[Oxbow6]

I guess if the victim would have gone "Travis Beck" on the thief's a** the discussion would be different!

Bottomline...thief was caught and then took off and ran. I see no problem with the victim "subduing" the thief until the police show up in any manner he felt necessary. Just my opinion.

[fightingsioux4life]

I guess if the victim would have gone "Travis Beck" on the thief's a** the discussion would be different!

Bottomline...thief was caught and then took off and ran. I see no problem with the victim "subduing" the thief until the police show up in any manner he felt necessary. Just my opinion.

A simple call to the police and the highway patrol with license plate number and description of the vehicle would have yielded the same results. There is no way that turkey would have gotten away.

[Oxbow6]

A simple call to the police and the highway patrol with license plate number and description of the vehicle would have yielded the same results. There is no way that turkey would have gotten away.

Not disagreeing. Just feel the victim when confronting the thief and seeing him trying to flee had the right to bring him to a halt from escaping. It's not like he went "Rodney King" on him.

[smokey the cat]

I see there are three people whose knuckles do not drag on the ground as they walk here. Then we have a bunch of people who only wish the had the cajones to do what this guy did.

[smokey the cat]

Per the Fargo Forum...a 23 year old Mapleton man steals a truck. The owner of the truck, a 57 year old Davenport man, tracks down the thief in the his stolen truck and confronts the thief. The thief trys to make a run for it and the man/victim is able to run him down and subdue him after he "beats" him with a metal pipe that he grab from his stolen truck. The thief is charged with a Class C felony for stealing the truck and the victim of the crime is also charged with a Class C felony for assault. Is this what we have become as a society?? Seems to be that those that committ crimes are increasingly getting more rights than the victims of those crimes. If you steal someone else's property and are caught by the individual that you stole from IMO a beatdown should be at the very least what you have coming.

And if he had killed him you would be ok with that? You feel he should then not be charged with murder either?

[Oxbow6]

I see there are three people whose knuckles do not drag on the ground as they walk here. Then we have a bunch of people who only wish the had the cajones to do what this guy did.

Hahaha...well played. Good to see you got a "pair" to make that post.

[Oxbow6]

And if he had killed him you would be ok with that? You feel he should then not be charged with murder either?

He didn't kill him so what's your point? But I'll play along...no and no. I like it when some jump to extreme hypotheticals to try to get a point across when it is irrelevant to the discussion.