He Stole my Welder!

[Punisher]

So I havn't been on this site in forever but I have to tell ya'll a story about a welder that I have decided has been stolen. Me being a nice guy am always trying to help people out. If you are a friend I will make more than a effort because one day I hope when Im in need, someone will reach out to me. So my old welding instructor came by back in july and ask to borrow one of my welders (Handler 140) He had recently lost one of his many jobs through no fault of his own and was building some grills to make an extra dime. I said sure, he had never givin me a reason to doubt his trust and He had been the one to teach me everthing I know about welding and being his student for more than 1 or 2 years we had become somewhat friends. So a Week or two goes by and I get to needing the welder so I give him a call and He is still using the welder and will get it to me the next week. So I wait and Wait and about a month goes by and still no welder so I give him another call. He tells me some stories gives me the run around and tells me he will get it back to me the next week. So I wait and wait and wait. Still no welder. A month goes by and I'm starting to get Pissed. (It takes alot!) I call him back--This time no answer, so I leave a voice mail---Week later---Call back---No ANSWEr---so I leave a voice mail. So Now in late November I have decided my welder is stolen, wether he lost it, broke it, pawned it, let another borrow it, its is stolen. I, being an extremely to nice of a person called last friday and left a message on his phone to have it back to me by Thanksgiving giving him every chance in the world to bring it back but by Thursday if it's not back I am going to have to report it. He has My welder worth $500 a bottle of 75,25 another $150. Any suggestions on what I should do or has anyone had this happen to them. I really really hate to get people in trouble with the law but I see no other choice.

[ace4059]

call the police and file a report. then get into the car with them, and drive over to his house and have a talk with him. have the police ask if they can look in his garage, then when they find it, take it back home with ya.
I hope you have the serial #.
not sure about where you are, but here in texas, if the stolen property is over 500, then it is a felony.

[Zrexxer]

not sure about where you are, but here in texas, if the stolen property is over 500, then it is a felony.

You need to read the Texas Penal Code a little more closely. $500 to $1500 is a Class A Misdemeanor in Texas.

[JalopyBldr]

Careful before making those kind of accusations.

You gave the welder to him and, in this screwed up, lawyer driven climate, the S.O.B. could probably turn around and sue YOU for slander !!!

[Thomas Harris]

You need to read the Texas Penal Code a little more closely. $500 to $1500 is a Class A Misdemeanor in Texas.

Who gives a rat's arse! Someone stole his property and should be held accountable. In a similar story, my son had a roomate of his take his bass guitar. The moron left a message on his answering machine explaining he had taken it. I told him to immediately call the law and don't erase that message. Police guy listens to the "confession" goes to the thiefs hang-out with my son and they both leave with the guitar. I say call the law, especially in an instance where you're reasonably sure who is responsible, even if you live in Texas.

[Punisher]

I talk to a lawyer friend who is a local Asst. DA and he called it theft by conversion or something like that. I do have a number of witness who know he has or had the welder. I talk to his old supervisor at the tech school and he said he owed him about $600 to. so I not really worried about his charactor at this point.

[Zrexxer]

Who gives a rat's arse!

People who know the law give a rat's "arse." People who don't know the law become its victims. And wrong information is wrong information, regardless of your contribution of rodent's rectums.

[LNGXDRM]

That sucks... But I would have to agree, call the police. You can only be nice for so long, after that your just getting taken advantage of.

Hope you get your welder back.

[bandsawguy]

He had been the one to teach me everthing I know about welding .[/QUOTE]

I guess he forgot to teach you the part about not lending your tools. Sorry to hear about the welder.

[TX-WJ]

If I were in your shoes, I would leave him a final massage stating if you do not get your welder by your specified deadline, you will have to file a theft report. Then follow thru if he does not return it. Good luck!

[ace4059]

I did not look to verfy if it takes 1500 in texas to be a felony but, I went once with a police man to recover an ATV. it was in the guys garage and the other man recovered his ATV. I went along because I was the witness that could verfy it was indeed this mans ATV. I talked to the policeman and he said that the charges were going to be a felony because of the amount. I THOUGHT he said that anything over 500 was classified as a felony, but he could have been wrong, or I could have heard him wrong.

BUt as far as the welder goes, I would still call the police.

[Thomas Harris]

People who know the law give a rat's "arse." People who don't know the law become its victims. And wrong information is wrong information, regardless of your contribution of rodent's rectums.

Exactly why he should report it so law enforcemnet can decide if a crime has been committed. He doesn't need to know the details of the statute to do this.

[Jim-Tx]

Unfortunately, recovering stolen property isn't always as simple as it should be. I've been thru the process. If you are lucky, the guy will simply give the welder back if confronted in person. Here lies a common problem...... people like that move often. You might or might not be able to locate him. If you can't locate him or he refuses to hand it back over, get the police involved. I say this only because it gets more complicated once they are involved. Police are busy and some don't make much attempt to recover property unless it shows up in "bust" or somewhere easy. Now, before everybody gets upset, I'm not knocking the police with that statement. I'm just speaking from experience. They have priorities and lots of cases to work. Hopefully, you can recover the welder easily, but if the guy that has it knows the ropes and doesn't want to cooperate, it can be a long drawn out process. Trust me, I've been there.

[blazin454]

sorry to hear... you know when it comes to helping a friend in need you really find out what kinda friend they are eh. i had a buddy in a car accident broke both his legs and i lent him money to help get by and had the same thing happen... never did get the money back.. its too bad when someone tries to help someone out and they get screwed. hopefully you get it all back without too many problems

[FormerTankSarge]

Call the cops and don't tell him you're coming. He's had plenty of time to bring it back!