So, I was just robbed about $1600...

[Falconv1.0]

You were robbed $1600 the second you decided to spend it all on video games

Yeah that's real cute.

****ty to hear that happened, I hope that fool gets his *** kicked, one way or another. Although for the love of God why did you have them in such a convenient position to be stolen, I mean that is a lot of ****.

 

[Grey Belnades]

Thanks, I'll consider it.

Anyways, I went through eBay and Craigslist to see if a bundle matching my games was being sold, but no results have come up, unfortunately. =/

It's no problem and don't worry, it's really simple to do if you do decide to do it.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. The day I got robbed? It was my birthday. =/

Wow, talk about bad news as a birthday surprise.

 

[Pink Reaper]

Not to sound like a **** but it was sort of your fault. You didnt get robbed, you left your **** somewhere and it got taken. I dont blame the guy who took the $20 from the ground when i dropped it out of my wallet. He's definitely a Dbag for taking someones stuff but he's less a robber and more an opportunist.

Also be careful about falsifying records. No DS game is worth $50. Games are priced new by the companies that make them. If you bought Spirit Tracks/Kirby/AC in america you got it for $34.99

 

[Browny]

Hold up.

Accepting known stolen goods is a crime. Is that crime known as... robbery? I'm not sure what else it could be?

 

[Poltergust]

Well, what I did for this list was have all first-party titles at $50, third-party titles at $40-$45, and obscure titles at $30-$35. I couldn't remember what was paid for every single game, especially since I live half-way across the country from where I obtained those games.

I do remember paying $50 for quite a few DS games, though. Did my Gamestop rip me off?

Also, taking something that belongs to someone else is indeed robbery, no matter what the circumstances are.

 

[CT Chia]

Yea I mean not to be a downer on the situation, but PR is kind of right. Crazy lame of whoever found it to take the stuff inside, but you did leave it there. At least you got some of it returned. Also prices like Super Mario 64 DS @ $50?? I bought it for $30 on launch day and you can get it used even cheaper now lol
I don't know of any DS game worth more than $40 that's not an import.
However, look on the bright side, at least it was DS games. I'm not promoting piracy, but it's VERY easy to get 'backups' of games (though I see it as legit since you did indeed purchase all of those games legit) and you can get all of them back in that sense with minimal money. The lost game saves are the worst part, at least it will give you the drive to replay some of those classics.

When I first read the title I thought you were mugged or something and was physically robbed of money and possessions. At least you still have the system (and carrying case lol) to play the games on.

Well, what I did for this list was have all first-party titles at $50, third-party titles at $40-$45, and obscure titles at $30-$35. I couldn't remember what was paid for every single game, especially since I live half-way across the country from where I obtained those games.

I do remember paying $50 for quite a few DS games, though. Did my Gamestop rip me off?

Well GameStop is a normal chain store and aren't going to charge more than the MSRP for sure, but NO DS games that I know of have launched for $50. All titles early on in the system's life launched for $30 or $40, and as time went on eventually kind of evened out at $35. Also note that games generally decrease in value over time, both with use/wear&tear, less demand, etc.

Edit: also without boxes, manuals, etc the price would be even less. Fortunately you still have those.
If I were you I would invest in a Acekard asap

 

[Pink Reaper]

Hold up.

Accepting known stolen goods is a crime. Is that crime known as... robbery? I'm not sure what else it could be?

Accepting known stolen goods implies that any of the goods were ever actually stolen. Legally the best you've got here is acquisition of lost or abandoned property. It was never forcefully taken nor was he mugged, burgled or extorted. It's not robbery.

 

[Poltergust]

Accepting known stolen goods implies that any of the goods were ever actually stolen. Legally the best you've got here is acquisition of lost or abandoned property. It was never forcefully taken nor was he mugged, burgled or extorted. It's not robbery.

No, it's indeed robbery. The person who took the game knew that it belonged to someone else, but still took it anyways. If that isn't robbery I don't know what is.

I'd rather not get into legal terms or anything, but I do remember learning something about ownership a long time ago: a person does not have legal ownership of something unless that something was given for free or sold under the original owner's consent (borrowing does NOT apply here, by the way). Since I obviously never consented to having my DS collection taken away from me, those games are still owned by me, but are in the illegal possession of someone else.

Perhaps "robbery" is not the best term, but the fact remains that whoever took my games did something illegal.

 

[Browny]

Accepting known stolen goods implies that any of the goods were ever actually stolen. Legally the best you've got here is acquisition of lost or abandoned property. It was never forcefully taken nor was he mugged, burgled or extorted. It's not robbery.

http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/receiving-stolen-property.html

"In Order to Be Convicted of this Crime, the Prosecution Must Show

That the property was in fact stolen
That you were aware, or should have known, that the property was stolen"

The property was stolen the INSTANT whoever touched them, decided they would keep it. Its perfectly fair to say that since the person is guilty on both requisites for receiving stolen goods, the property was therefore stolen. As it was the same person, clearly whoever accepted them stole them, thus committed robbery.

Or; the person could not be convicted of receiving stolen goods (which they clearly have, it is impossible to have 'acquired' the games through any other means than stealing since they knew it was someone elses, and kept it) without a robbery having taken place, with the same person therefore guilty of it.

 

[Pink Reaper]

Actually when it was acquired it was still technically lost or abandoned property. The owner, having since laid claim can still demand it back however it's not stolen property until it's willfully kept from the rightful owner. Should the rightful owner request the return of said items from the current possessor and should he be refused only then can it technically be considered stolen property as it's willfully taken and kept from a legal owner. When he left it on the bus it became lost or abandoned property and there is no law requiring that a person must turn in lost property unless a claim has been made on it. So once again, if authorities come across the person now in possession of the property it only becomes an actual theft if the items are not returned. However the instance of aquiring them is not technically a burglary.

Moreso you're quoting the wrong law. Willful Acquisition of Stolen Property only holds true if the items were stolen in the first place and then knowingly acquired after the fact. They would have to have been stolen from a defendants person, then change hands accordingly. What you're implying is just theft, which once again, doesnt hold true.

 

[Browny]

And how often does someone who steals something, ever hear about a theft claim being given to the police? Pretty sure most petty thefts have the criminal never hearing of their crime having taken place.

Its impossible to suggest that it only becomes robbery once the thief is aware the owner wants it back since then the countless thefts every day would classify as something else, which I dont know of.

If someone moves around in a bus and their phone falls out of their pocket, I picked it up and instantly get off the bus, putting headphones in so I cant hear anything and walk away. I have given myself no chance to be aware that the owner may want it back, yet this is the exact same scenario as what has happened here with an altered timeframe. Everything else is the same. Would you call that theft? Under your argument that it is only lost property, have I committed a crime, and what is it?

 

[ranmaru]

I'm sorry to hear this dude. I know how you feel. I lost a wallet full of cards, and a phone.

Now losing a ton of ds games I do not know how that would feel. But, in fear of losing everything I don't usually take my DS everywhere. I DO not play my DS in public places unless I have a long wait time. The exception is the bus. I might miss my stop.

I also didn't bring my DS to Pound 5. I wanted to, but I felt I should leave it at home where it was safe. It was quite boring without it.

Plus, I have a flash card. I back up my games. If I lost my ds and flash card, I'd simply have to buy a new ds and flashcard. (I have my games and saves backed up)

BUt, I can relate to you in seeing some items that you left somewhere, and you'd feel relieved to have found it. Then, you'd realize the person had taken everything inside and leaving you with the thoughts "Oh well at least he was nice enough to leave my receit"

I have even lost my social security card... gah... that's what I get for taking it with me in case someone would need it...

I was playing DDR, and I took everything out of my pockets to play. I got tired out, and went with my gf to play the claw. We came back within a half hour, and I was playing another game. OMFG I forgot my stuff.

I left an inhaler, $5, a wallet, and tic tacs. Luckily the person left me my tic tacs and inhaler. What a nice guy.

 

[san.]

That's really unfortunate. I used to always be stressed when I carried a lot of my gba/DS games on plane trips, etc. I hope your swift action helps get your stuff back. At least it wasn't anything really harmful that was stolen.

Picross 3D/Picross DS I recommend for trips though , all you need.

 

[Sensei Seibrik]

Link to original post: [drupal=4054]So, I was just robbed about $1600...[/drupal]





I felt that the world was crumbling around me right there.

..............


yeap, video games are THAT serious...





I didn't do it, btw

 

[Suspect]

So serious you fly around the nation to play in tournaments right?

 

[Firus]

..............

yeap, video games are THAT serious...

I didn't do it, btw

Losing anything / having anything stolen tends to leave you feeling pretty ****ty, regardless of what it is. Losing $1600 worth of anything is definitely much worse, because no matter what it is, that's a lot of money. (Even if the amount is overestimated a little bit, that's still at least $1000 worth of stolen property, and that's still a lot of money.)

I've never lost anything of that magnitude, but I can sure attest to the fact that it's a terrible feeling, no matter what it is that you've lost.

I know it's cool to act like nothing affects you, but the fact that it was video games doesn't mean it's any better.

It definitely would be much worse to lose things that could result in identity theft or the like, but it's got to suck to lose all of those games, all of that money, and all of those save files. =/ You have my condolences, good luck in recovering your stuff.

 

[Dragoon Fighter]

Sorry to hear that man, I know how that feels.

 

[Gatlin]

Really sorry to hear that, man, I hope you get your goods back. I remember one time I brought my Gameboy SP with me on this class trip to a park, and I had left it in my bag which was with all the other kid's bags, and when I got home I searched only to find it wasn't in there anymore. My only guess is someone saw me with it, and figured they'd take it while I was away. Same thing happened with my iPod Touch just recently. Seems like you need to physically lock all your goods up these days with people running around rummaging through others personal space. They must have no conscience to be able to just take **** from people.

 

[rhan]

Anything truly important should be kept on your person or at home anyway. That's the only way to know it's safe.

 

[adumbrodeus]

Srry Poltergust, that really sucks man.

And how often does someone who steals something, ever hear about a theft claim being given to the police? Pretty sure most petty thefts have the criminal never hearing of their crime having taken place.

Its impossible to suggest that it only becomes robbery once the thief is aware the owner wants it back since then the countless thefts every day would classify as something else, which I dont know of.

If someone moves around in a bus and their phone falls out of their pocket, I picked it up and instantly get off the bus, putting headphones in so I cant hear anything and walk away. I have given myself no chance to be aware that the owner may want it back, yet this is the exact same scenario as what has happened here with an altered timeframe. Everything else is the same. Would you call that theft? Under your argument that it is only lost property, have I committed a crime, and what is it?

Ok, understand this, there are different classifacation of property seperated from their owner and Pink reaper is completely right here. If you look at US property law this is dealing with "Lost, mislaid, or abandoned property". In this case it would be lost.


Lost property: When the owner has set the property down in a place where he did not intend (likely did not intend for purposes of defining whether the owner intended it or not), and is unlikely to find it.

The finder of the property has ownership (title) of the property against everyone except the current legal title holder and previous title holders.


It might potentially be considered mislaid if it was considered "in the bus" as opposed to "on his person", but that's a seperate point.



If a person finds property that was accidentally lost by the owner, that's not legally stealing because legally the onus is on the owner to not lose his property and furthermore it's legally considered unlikely that the owner will ever find it, therefore unless the owner does manage to track it down, it's the property of the person who picks it up. The person can in fact take title of only part of it if they desire.

While unfortunately this was a case where the owner was able to obtain it, it still doesn't change the legal status of the property as lost, and therefore title belongs to the finder until Poltergust tracks him down.

 

[WaffleBlaster]

Sorry for your loss man, that must really suck losing all of those DS games, I would be royally pissed off if that happened to me. Unfortunately I'm horrible with losing things(2 GBASPs in about 2 years o_O), so thats why I keep things in my pockets all the time. I just have a phone and Ipod touch I bring everywhere, but I know there is always some ******* somewhere who just loves to steal peoples ****, so I always panic when I feel my left pocket and my IPod isn't there(it is kinda routine for me to put it in my left pocket and my phone in my right). I'm like "Oh God, I dropped it! Someone probably stole it or trampled it or threw it in the trash or fed it to a goat or....!" and then I feel my jacket pocket........all in the course of 10 seconds..........

 

[Shelter From The Storm]

Pink Reaper is correct.

Getting robbed is having something forcefully taken from you, just saying.

It's unfortunate, but not an apocalyptic event of great proportions. Still, I understand.

 

[Purple]

If there's no change of you getting your games back , I highly recommend you getting an acekard.

I'm very sorry for your loss..

 

[Browny]

Srry Poltergust, that really sucks man.




Ok, understand this, there are different classifacation of property seperated from their owner and Pink reaper is completely right here. If you look at US property law this is dealing with "Lost, mislaid, or abandoned property". In this case it would be lost.


Lost property: When the owner has set the property down in a place where he did not intend (likely did not intend for purposes of defining whether the owner intended it or not), and is unlikely to find it.

The finder of the property has ownership (title) of the property against everyone except the current legal title holder and previous title holders.


It might potentially be considered mislaid if it was considered "in the bus" as opposed to "on his person", but that's a seperate point.



If a person finds property that was accidentally lost by the owner, that's not legally stealing because legally the onus is on the owner to not lose his property and furthermore it's legally considered unlikely that the owner will ever find it, therefore unless the owner does manage to track it down, it's the property of the person who picks it up. The person can in fact take title of only part of it if they desire.

While unfortunately this was a case where the owner was able to obtain it, it still doesn't change the legal status of the property as lost, and therefore title belongs to the finder until Poltergust tracks him down.

Wow @ this american logic

I'd love to see how you/PR responded if you brang a wii to a tournament, go to the bathroom and then someone simply takes it, leaves the venue and never sees or hears from you again. Who defines when something is lost? When it was somewhere you didnt intend? What sort of stupid subjective argument is that.

Im not implying you are wrong, I'm flat out stating that american property law is completely and utterly ****ing ******** to the point you should be ashamed to even know it. Of course its like that in almost every country so nothing new.

If you are suggesting that whoever took his stuff whilst making no effort to return it, is not comitting robbery, then what ARE they committing? His scenario is identical to the wii example. Would you call that robbery? If you get out of a car while its running to get your mail and someone quickly jumps in, slams the door shut and drives away, at no point have they threatened you with force or fear so its not TECHNICALLY robbery by american laws, so what the hell is it?

 

[theeboredone]

Well, what's done is done. It's an interesting debate you two have going on, but no room for it here.

 

[Pink Reaper]

In the case of a wii taken while a person is still on the premises it would still technically count as being on the owners person as he never left the premises of the wii. Willful removal of a persons property from that person is robbery. And yes, stealing a car from someone's person, i.e, a person who is still with the car, even if not in it, is still theft. Picking up something someone left on a bus hours ago is just being a ****.


Here's a better example Browny. If you find $5 on the sidewalk and pick it up, do you consider yourself a robber?

 

[Purple]

In the case of a wii taken while a person is still on the premises it would still technically count as being on the owners person as he never left the premises of the wii. Willful removal of a persons property from that person is robbery. And yes, stealing a car from someone's person, i.e, a person who is still with the car, even if not in it, is still theft. Picking up something someone left on a bus hours ago is just being a ****.


Here's a better example Browny. If you find $5 on the sidewalk and pick it up, do you consider yourself a robber?

Makes sense to me.

It's the same thing, regardless of how large the situation.

 

[Browny]

Yes and no. Yes in the fact that you know it is not yours and you take it, but no because there is nothing you can do to return it to its rightful owner, lest you risk handing over stolen goods. You would be legally in the right to keep possession of it until the owner asks for it back. The difference is, how easy is it to prove it is someones. I would therefore deem it as not robbery since you arent willfully keeping it from the owner; there is simply no guaranteed way to return it. Not too long ago i saw $2 in a cinema foyer, so I looked around, no one seemed to own it, so I took it.

Now if I made an effort to find out who owned it, who could possibly prove it was theirs? There is almost nothing anyone would do to prove beyond any doubt it was theirs. With a material good though you shouldn't have too much trouble being able to prove it. you would ask 'has anyone recently lost something?' and if someone can respond with that exact item, its quite clear what it is.

If you do not have the power or the capability to be aware of or be able to conduct this example, you must hand the item over to someone who can ie; the bus company.

Unless someone could tell me the exact details about the $5 note with markings, year of date etc and I STILL refused to hand it over, I would call that robbery. Anything else and you could argue that the person claiming it, is in a way, attempting to rob you yourself.

 

[Purple]

Honestly, this arguement's kind of dumb.

I'd rather just show my sadness for Poltergust's bad luck than argue about it -_-

 

[saviorslegacy]

All I can say is at least they were just video games and not something like a family heirloom or something special.
I would rather loose all of my games than the golden necklace that I wear. It was a wedding gift to my father from mom (who had like no money at the time but she still worked and bought the necklace for him). They got married right before he left for a-school to be trained in the Marine Corps. Half a year later him and that necklace left for war in Kuwait. He traveled to I think 27 countries with that necklace.
That same necklace was my 18th birthday present. I have carried is through America and when I ship out it will be going back to war and through many countries.
I hope to repeat the tradition.

 

[KMFBrawler]

All I can say is at least they were just video games and not something like a family heirloom or something special.
I would rather loose all of my games than the golden necklace that I wear. It was a wedding gift to my father from mom (who had like no money at the time but she still worked and bought the necklace for him). They got married right before he left for a-school to be trained in the Marine Corps. Half a year later him and that necklace left for war in Kuwait. He traveled to I think 27 countries with that necklace.
That same necklace was my 18th birthday present. I have carried is through America and when I ship out it will be going back to war and through many countries.
I hope to repeat the tradition.

I can understand your point. Family is much more important than gaming, and family stuff (my english is not the best) is also very important. But for a lot of peeps here, gaming is not just a hobby, it's an all-time free time spending. And games stolen worth 1600 dollars sure is a lot.

 

[REL38]

I'm dumbfounded as to why you thought it was a good idea to carry around 30 DS games

 

[§witch]

Robbery and theft are different. Robbery must have violence or the threat of violence, otherwise it's theft.

 

[Hax]

that's what happens when you play brawl

 

[King Funk]

I don't play Brawl, but you have my condolences.

What does playing Brawl have to do with anything in this blog? >_<

I'm amazed how some people on smashboards become mods.

 

[Poltergust]

I heard from someone on the security team at CapMetro (the bus company) the other day. He said there may have been a camera installed on the bus and will contact me by Thursday to tell me his results. Let's hope it turns out well...

 

[adumbrodeus]

Wow @ this american logic

I'd love to see how you/PR responded if you brang a wii to a tournament, go to the bathroom and then someone simply takes it, leaves the venue and never sees or hears from you again. Who defines when something is lost? When it was somewhere you didnt intend? What sort of stupid subjective argument is that.

Im not implying you are wrong, I'm flat out stating that american property law is completely and utterly ****ing ******** to the point you should be ashamed to even know it. Of course its like that in almost every country so nothing new.

If you are suggesting that whoever took his stuff whilst making no effort to return it, is not comitting robbery, then what ARE they committing? His scenario is identical to the wii example. Would you call that robbery? If you get out of a car while its running to get your mail and someone quickly jumps in, slams the door shut and drives away, at no point have they threatened you with force or fear so its not TECHNICALLY robbery by american laws, so what the hell is it?

Whether something is lost is defined by case law.

Essentially the difference between your two examples and what happened here is this, "the owner intended to leave something there and intended it to remain there for the length of the period". In such cases it's considered in the owner's possession however the standard is reasonable so if a reasonable person would not believe they intended to leave the item where it was left it would be legally lost.


In both of the above cases it would be impossible to argue that a reasonable person would believe that the owner put it there unintentionally and was unlikely to return.


As far as the crime, it's stealing, the act of removing something from the lawful owner's possession without their freely given consent. Robbery is a subcategory of stealing using violence or threats or force, but lack of threats or force doesn't make it any less stealing.



Believe me, US law has a lot worse areas, what's Australian law like on this issue?

I heard from someone on the security team at CapMetro (the bus company) the other day. He said there may have been a camera installed on the bus and will contact me by Thursday to tell me his results. Let's hope it turns out well...

Here's hoping Polt.

 

[Browny]

IDK what aus law is regarding this sort of stuff, I just know our manslaughter/murder and driving-related crimes resulting in bodily harm are soooooo weak while the US has it right >_<

 

[theeboredone]

IDK what aus law is regarding this sort of stuff, I just know our manslaughter/murder and driving-related crimes resulting in bodily harm are soooooo weak while the US has it right >_<

I personally do not agree with our manslaughter prison sentences, but that's for another discussion. And it's Thursday, so results, Polt?

 

[Pogogo]

Dude just get an r4 or another ds emulator. Hack all the files back if you want or play new games. I used to be like you where I loved the files I built on games, lvl 100 pokemon staff datas etc. Then I saw emulators and realized the silliness of getting bent out of shape about progress.