California man’s boat stolen in broad daylight by two thieves. Tired of waiting for the police, he decides to have ‘the last laugh’

A California boat owner recently reclaimed their stolen property, stealing the boat right back from the thieves. According to a NY Post report, the Stryker Bass Boat and its trailer were taken from a driveway near Polk and Cornelia avenues in Fresno last week. 

The entire theft was caught on surveillance footage, which showed two masked men backing a green SUV into the driveway. One individual, wearing a black hoodie and shorts, is seen hooking the covered boat trailer to the back of the SUV before hauling it away in broad daylight. 

The thieves did not get to enjoy their prize for very long, though. After tracking the vehicle down, the the owner hauled the boat and successfully returned it to their home. 

All of that is possible because of their community

A local community member spotted the missing boat and reached out to the owners with information. After receiving photos of the vessel, the owners confirmed it was indeed their stolen boat, which was sitting at the Westwood Apartments near Shields and Valentine avenues.

The owners did the right thing initially by calling 911 and heading to the location to wait for law enforcement. However, they ended up growing tired of waiting for the police to arrive on the scene.

Deciding that they had already dealt with enough trouble, they took matters into their own hands. They managed to load the boat back onto their own vehicle and successfully returned it to their home.

The owners expressed their feelings about the ordeal, stating, “We had felt so violated.” In a great commentary about the situation, they added  “But now we have the last laugh by stealing it back!”

While this story has a satisfying ending for the boat owners, it brings up a really interesting legal question about whether you can actually steal your own property back. Lawyer John Guidry mentions that taking the law into your own hands can sometimes land you in a lot of trouble. While common sense tells you that you cannot steal what you already own, the legal system does not always see it that way.

In his article, Guidry explains that the intent to deprive an owner of property is the core of a theft charge. He references the case of T.D.W. v. State, where a juvenile tried to retrieve his own stolen phone and was initially charged with robbery because he used force. The court eventually threw out the conviction, reasoning that a good faith belief in your right to property is a complete defense against theft. 

However, Guidry makes it clear that you should not rush out to play vigilante just because you have a legal defense. He points out that the openness of how you take the property back matters a lot in court. If you are doing it in broad daylight, it looks more like a claim of right, whereas sneaking around can make you look like a criminal. 

Even so, he warns that you will probably still get arrested if you handle it yourself. The claim of right is typically a defense you use at trial, not something that stops a police officer from putting you in handcuffs on the scene. The best thing to do, is just leave it to the police, and provide receipts, serial numbers and photos to prove ownership.

This is a hilarious case of a person getting the upper hand over the thieves. However, there are a lot of story of dumb criminals who basically turn themselves in. Like the crazy story of a burglar who met his victim to retrieve clothes he has left at the scene of the crime. Don’t worry, there are dumber stories, like the kidnapper who asked his victim to drive the car.