Nice guy thief steals Garmin, leaves note for owner

 

From the March 10 Beacon News newspaper for Aurora, IL:

AURORA -- A thief stole a Garmin GPS unit and a Bluetooth earpiece from a car on Aurora's far East Side Tuesday — but left the keys in the ignition of the vehicle, and a warning note to the owner.

The theft occurred between 4:30 and 5:45 a.m. Tuesday on the 2900 block of Coastal Drive, Aurora police said.

In the vehicle, the victim found a hand-written note that said, "I could have taken your vehicle, too." Police said the car was unlocked and the keys had been left in the console. It appeared the thief put the keys in the ignition, police said.

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Honest Thief?

WOW! A thief with a conscience!

However, it's not too bright to leave the keys in the car.

--
DriveSmart 65, NUVI2555LMT, (NUVI350 is Now Retired)

No conscience

laugh out loud

davidkbrown wrote:

WOW! A thief with a conscience!

However, it's not too bright to leave the keys in the car.

I don't think he had a conscience or he wouldn't have taken the GPS. laugh out loud

--
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)

very thoughtful thief!

A very thoughtful thief!

--
Unless you are the lead sled dog, the view never changes. I is retard... every day is Saturday! I still use the Garmin 3590 LMT even tho I upgraded to the Garmin 61 LMT. Bigger screen is not always better in my opinion.

He used his head sort of

If he takes the car its Grand Theft, buy taking the GPS and Blue tooth ear piece it’s a lesser crime and a whole lot easier to hide in his pocket. Kind of hard to hide a stolen car in the desert.

But knowing he has the GPS can't Garmin triangulate on the device and find it???? or when he gets the bright idea to connect it to the internet to update it Lock the device out from the garmin side. razz

--
Garmin 3597 LMTHD

This could be the reason

idea

May be the car is worth less than the Garmin GPS with the headset...

laugh out loud

He used his head sort of

TMan65 wrote:

But knowing he has the GPS can't Garmin triangulate on the device and find it???? or when he gets the bright idea to connect it to the internet to update it Lock the device out from the garmin side. razz

No, but if it is locked and the thief returns it to Garmin to unlock or repair, it will be returned to the owner on record.

--
Allan Barnett - Garmin nüvi 885T/765T/Pharos GPS (bluetooth) w/MS Maps on PPC

Receiver, not transmitter

TMan65 wrote:

But knowing he has the GPS can't Garmin triangulate on the device and find it???? or when he gets the bright idea to connect it to the internet to update it Lock the device out from the garmin side. razz

Garmin, nor anyone else can find you using a GPS receiver. Its not like they are like OnStar or cell phones...

Besides raising the level of the crime if he took the car, cars are much easier to find and much harder to dispose of than a GPSr. Besides, the thief has no idea if the car has Lo-jac, so he was just being smart.

--
Drivesmart 66, Nuvi 2595LMT (Died), Nuvi 1490T (Died), Nuvi 260 (Died), GPSMAP 195

"Besides raising the level

"Besides raising the level of the crime if he took the car, cars are much easier to find and much harder to dispose of than a GPSr. Besides, the thief has no idea if the car has Lo-jac, so he was just being smart."

Exactly what I've thought. The thief was a smart-ass smile

He took what he can manage.

--
Garmin Nuvi 2555 LMT, Street Pilot C340, nuvi 265WT, Mio Moov 300, nuvi 255W, Navigon 2100 (Retired)

Wouldn't they be able to

Wouldn't they be able to just lift his print from the car key?

Miss POI

This is a good reminder

I've been meaning to lock my Garmin...

Never, Never

Never, Never leave your GPS in the car when unattend. I alway carried with me and alway lock the car. I also hide all other GPS equipments into the glove box.

p.s. GPS is for all electronic brands.

I Agree

hornerm wrote:

Never, Never leave your GPS in the car when unattend. I alway carried with me and alway lock the car. I also hide all other GPS equipments into the glove box.

p.s. GPS is for all electronic brands.

I never leave any sign of a GPS in my car. I take down the Holder, the GPS and the cord and hide it so as not to attract attention to it. Out of site - out of mind.

--
Larry - Nuvi 680, Nuvi 1690, Nuvi 2797LMT

As far as finger prints

I found out the hardward (some broke into car before) unless its a murder scene or a bank robbery they do not finger print for what they consider small crimes.

--
Garmin 3597 LMTHD

Jack Bauer could!

rocknicehunter wrote:
TMan65 wrote:

But knowing he has the GPS can't Garmin triangulate on the device and find it???? or when he gets the bright idea to connect it to the internet to update it Lock the device out from the garmin side. razz

Garmin, nor anyone else can find you using a GPS receiver. Its not like they are like OnStar or cell phones...

I'll bet they could on 24 (sorry, just watched the latest episode last night). But don't they claim to find people using their GPS's on that show?

.

I know I'm gonna catch flak for saying this, but I actually applaud the criminal.

People need to learn to act more responsibly. In this day and age you don't leave your car unlocked, let alone leave the keys in the car!! Now maybe that owner will think twice before doing such a dumb thing.

.

I totally concur. The owner actually deserved it in my opinion. You can't trust anyone these days.

--
Michael (Nuvi 2639LMT)

I go one step further...

I addition to hiding all traces of my GPS, including the power cord, and its beanbag friction mount, I also close the lid on my car's 12 volt outlet. What thief could even begin to imagine I had an electronic device worth breaking into a car to get?

Anothery lucky thing going for this guy who left his keys in his car, and apparently his doors open, was he didn't get his car windows broken. Had he left his GPS in plain view and locked his doors, he would also have had to deal with replacing his windows.

Garmin Theft

miss poi wrote:

Wouldn't they be able to just lift his print from the car key?

Miss POI

They could but for a Garmin? I don't think so. I don't even think they would do it if the car was taken.

How much

How much does it cost to do this? It can't be much.

The thief is at fault not the owner

No matter how careless an owner is with their property, a thief is still a thief and there is nothing nice about a thief taking someone’s property.

No one “deserves” to have anything stolen from him or her.

Nice guy thief steals Garmin, leaves the car

I think he learned three lessons from the ordeal, and got lucky on one of them!

  1. Don't leave the keys in your car. (He got Lucky here)
  2. Always take your GPS with you. (not so lucky)
  3. Always take your bluetooth ear piece with you.
    (again not so lucky)

This was an education, expensive as it was. You can bet it won't happen to this person again.

The moral of the story is, take your keys and put your junk in the trunk, or take it with you.
Or risk the loss.

--
Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.

Smart thief!

Not nice thief but very smart thief because the thief know that stealing the car will carry a bigger penalty

--
Val - Nuvi 785t and Streetpilot C340

Thoughtful criminal

If the thoughtful criminal had not left the note, I wonder how long it would have taken for the owner to realize his/her stuff had been stolen and not just misplaced? grin

--
getround - Nuvi 750 - Nuvi 3597LMTHD

"Run this through the database"

Chuck26 wrote:
miss poi wrote:

Wouldn't they be able to just lift his print from the car key?

Miss POI

They could but for a Garmin? I don't think so. I don't even think they would do it if the car was taken.

I bet Grissom would have lifted the print had he been on the scene...

- Phil

Uh, Nice Guy Thief...

An oxymoron if ever I've heard one. I thought I just relieve you of your Garmin GPS unit and Bluetooth earpiece so as to lighten the load on your vehicle and thus improve your gas mileage.

--
Peter

If you keep insisting, they just might...

Just be careful what you ask for...

A policeman friend, who is pretty patient, but does not suffer fools gladly told me that they usually don't dust for prints, but one woman who had something stolen from her white car insisted forcefully and repeatedly that they needed to check for fingerprints.

Eventually they relented. They didn't find a print, just as they had expected, but her car was turned from white to black, inside and out...

--
Drivesmart 66, Nuvi 2595LMT (Died), Nuvi 1490T (Died), Nuvi 260 (Died), GPSMAP 195

GPS Theif

I am amazed how often I see GPS'S in the Chicago-land area sitting out in the open. Walk through a large parking lot and see GPS'S all over the place. Maybe it's a Midwest thing?? I admit I will leave mine in the car but I at least take it out of site.

Flip

--
Flip Garmin Street P.330 Garmin 255WT Garmin LM50

Miss POI

Police can lift the print off the key, but it just not worth the time and money to get at least 85% of the thumb print or finger print on key. If number of point on finger print fall below standard point, it have no prove to find the thefter.

Sorry

I'd like to say this much

As my Dad and Mom are getting older (in there 80's). I find they are starting to do these sorts of things (leaving Keys in the car) AND THEY DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG with it.

I really hate that they leave the keys in the car because they can't remember to bring them out of the house.

They live in a retirement community, just because it has a gate doesn't make it thief proof. I can't get my point across to them, if some young GENEYASS (and I said it that way on purpose) Decides to steal the car you will be just as much at fault because you enabled the person by leaving the keys in there.

They have left insulin my mother needs in the Hot sun for hours and then can't figure out why it made her sick.

I really miss the people they used to be. crying

--
Garmin 3597 LMTHD

Unfinished note

johnc wrote:

In the vehicle, the victim found a hand-written note that said, "I could have taken your vehicle, too."

"... if I could drive."

Depends

Chuck26 wrote:
miss poi wrote:

Wouldn't they be able to just lift his print from the car key?

Miss POI

They could but for a Garmin? I don't think so. I don't even think they would do it if the car was taken.

I think it would depend on the officer and department. In a major city where you get many cars stolen a night - maybe not. But in a town where you only get a couple a month or week I bet so. Many of the towns I work in most cars have probably never had the key out of the ignition...

Daniel

--
Garmin StreetPilot c580 & Nuvi 760 - Member 32160 - Traveling in Kansas

Maybe the Garmin is already unlocked?

If the theft happened at the residence, the thief probably unlocked the Garmin before he left.

Foolish people

I know it sounds rude but the person asked for it. My daughter constantly leaves things on the seat or console of an unlocked car - sometimes with the windows down. I got on her case for parking in front of my house (on the street) and leaving the car unlocked, the windows down, and her WALLET sitting on the console.

The paper is full of stories about women who have their purse stolen or people who have their cell phones and laptops stolen. The common thread is that they left the items in plain sight on the seat of the car - often with the windows down or the doors unlocked. All I can think of when I see those stories is how utterly STUPID the people are acting.

Thieves deserve to DIE, DIE, DIE!!!!! People who make it easy for thieves to steal pretty much deserve what they get. I fear that common sense is far from common these days.

Another common story is the woman who leaves her purse in the shopping cart and then drives away. It boggles the mind.......

--
GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

Good idea but...................................

(IMHO)For whatever reason, the police don't check for fingerprints in such trivial (to them) matters. I don't believe they (police) do it even for a house burglary.

Maybe it's policy, I don't know.

There's safety in numbers!

FLIP wrote:

I am amazed how often I see GPS'S in the Chicago-land area sitting out in the open. Walk through a large parking lot and see GPS'S all over the place. Maybe it's a Midwest thing?? I admit I will leave mine in the car but I at least take it out of site.
Flip

The bigger the herd, the less chance that YOU will be the wildebeast picked off by the lions. They'll go for the stupid ones that leave it sit out in plain view. Those dummies will help saturate the market for stolen GPSs and eventually make the rest of us safer. wink

I don't understand..?

Flip said in part..

FLIP wrote:

I admit I will leave mine in the car but I at least take it out of site.

I'll admit sometimes I don't understand what's being said.. so can you explain the above to me?

Thanks

Nuvi1300WTGPS

--
I'm not really lost.... just temporarily misplaced!

Wouldn't do him much good

mstrehle wrote:

If the theft happened at the residence, the thief probably unlocked the Garmin before he left.

You still need to know the code to disable the automatic lock or to change to another code, so the thief would have to bring it back to that location each time it was powered on to unlock it.

Do all GPS owners, including yourself, a favor and lock your GPS.

- Phil

stolen garmin

Cyberian75 wrote:

I totally concur. The owner actually deserved it in my opinion. You can't trust anyone these days.

No one deserves to have anything taken from them!

Taking the Garmin with you but leaving the suction mount

I always take the GPS with me but don't bother with the mounting bracket. Do you think that this is inviting a break-in?

Thou Shall Not Steal!!!

GadgetGuy2008 wrote:

I know I'm gonna catch flak for saying this, but I actually applaud the criminal.

People need to learn to act more responsibly. In this day and age you don't leave your car unlocked, let alone leave the keys in the car!! Now maybe that owner will think twice before doing such a dumb thing.

There is never a reason to applaud a criminal.
A criminal is just that a criminal.
what part of thou shall not steal is hard to comprehend.
Was the person smart for leaving the car unlocked? No!
Was he smart for leaving his GPS in plain sight? No!
But it is still wrong to steal.

--
Being ALL I can be for HIM! Jesus. Kenwood DNX9980HD Garmin 885t

lucky

the car owner was very lucky, the thief was not in the right but was attempting to give the owner a lesson, problem is, you cant fix stupid and they both qualify

No! No! No!

GadgetGuy2008 wrote:

I know I'm gonna catch flak for saying this, but I actually applaud the criminal.

People need to learn to act more responsibly. In this day and age you don't leave your car unlocked, let alone leave the keys in the car!! Now maybe that owner will think twice before doing such a dumb thing.

PLEASE, don't blame the victim. I despise thieves.

Grand Theft

Smart thief, stealing an Auto is more likely to get you caught and much harsher then stealing a GPS.

At least the car wasn't damaged . . .

I had a friend who left an backpack in his parked car. A thief smashed the window and took off with the freebee backpack which was literally full of garbage and left my buddy with a $200 bill for replacing the glass.

Lesson learned. neutral

Thank you!

PastorMC wrote:
GadgetGuy2008 wrote:

I know I'm gonna catch flak for saying this, but I actually applaud the criminal.

People need to learn to act more responsibly. In this day and age you don't leave your car unlocked, let alone leave the keys in the car!! Now maybe that owner will think twice before doing such a dumb thing.

There is never a reason to applaud a criminal.
A criminal is just that a criminal.
what part of thou shall not steal is hard to comprehend.
Was the person smart for leaving the car unlocked? No!
Was he smart for leaving his GPS in plain sight? No!
But it is still wrong to steal.

A thief is a thief is a thief! Victims do not DESERVE crimes committed against them. Blaming the victim in this instance is much like some people do to victims of sexual violence, who some feel DESERVE the assault because of the way they dress.

Lockin your Garmin won't work...

I really don't see that locking your Garmin is any deterrent for theft. A grab-and- run thief isn't going to try your Garmin before he steals it. He can't afford to take the time at the scene of the crime.

If you are going to argue that, at least, the thief doesn't get any benefit out of your locked GPS, consider the following. Guess what the thief is going to do with the locked GPS? He is going to throw it the trash. Then guess what? He is going to break into more cars until he finds GPS's that aren't locked. It would be better he should grab one working GPS than breaking into multiple cars, bringing misery to more people.

The only way that locked GPS's could work as a theft deterrent would be if there was no user option to keep them unlocked. If a thief knew all GPS's were locked, he would get of the business of stealing GPS's and get into the business of stealing something else. However, since few of us would advocate having locks forced onto our GPS's, I don't think this idea will fly.

Locks keep honest people honest

This reduces your chance of being a victim.

You have got to be kidding

BabyDoc wrote:

I really don't see that locking your Garmin is any deterrent for theft. A grab-and- run thief isn't going to try your Garmin before he steals it. He can't afford to take the time at the scene of the crime.

If you are going to argue that, at least, the thief doesn't get any benefit out of your locked GPS, consider the following. Guess what the thief is going to do with the locked GPS? He is going to throw it the trash. Then guess what? He is going to break into more cars until he finds GPS's that aren't locked. It would be better he should grab one working GPS than breaking into multiple cars, bringing misery to more people.

The only way that locked GPS's could work as a theft deterrent would be if there was no user option to keep them unlocked. If a thief knew all GPS's were locked, he would get of the business of stealing GPS's and get into the business of stealing something else. However, since few of us would advocate having locks forced onto our GPS's, I don't think this idea will fly.

Yes, the thief doesn't get any benefit out of your locked GPS. He is going to throw it in the trash.

Yes, if a thief knew all GPS's were locked, he would get out of the business of stealing GPS's and get into the business of stealing something else.

Stealing 1 GPS is what a thief does to get something he doesn't have. Stealing many GPSs will get him money or something else. He may through a few units in the trash but maybe get himself enough units for his needs.

You probably don't lock your gps or car! You make it easy for a thief but many of us will not.

Ya gotta wonder why someone

Ya gotta wonder why someone would leave their keys at that time of the morning? Maybe they needed a quick getaway???

LOL

I don't make it easy for thieves...

Unless all GPS's are locked, a thief is going to go after any GPS he happens to see. Even if he wants to get multiple GPS's to sell, locking your GPS doesn't deter him from breaking your window to take yours. In fact it may encourage him to break even more windows, including yours, to get to the few gps's that may not be locked.

For example, if he figures half of all GPS's are locked, he will break into twice as many cars in order to get enough unlocked GPSs.
Why would you be satisfied to make the thief work harder, when you could actually deter him by hiding your GPS from sight?

Now, perhaps, people with locked GPS's, left in plain view, might place a sign on their windshield, which warns potential thieves that the GPS in this car IS locked. Then, just like visible locks on a house could deter a thief from breaking in, so, too, could this sign make the thief think twice about wasting time with your GPS. Without doing that, you haven't really accomplished much, have you, other than encouraging the thief to break into more cars to get the working GPS's he needs.

Still, I would prefer to hide my GPS in the trunk along with the power cord and friction mount. I'll lock the trunk, the car, but not the GPS. Most thieves wouldn't waste their time looking for something they can't see.

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