Man Tracks Down His Stolen Property on Craigslist, Catches Thief in the Process

One not so clever thief in New Hampshire man is going to need the assistance of a very good grand theft attorney after one of his victims tracked him down on Craigslist of all places.

Hours after discovering that his wife’s car had been broken into, Andy Cuthbertson decided to check Craigslist to see if the DVD player and GPS unit that had been stolen from the car had been posted online. Sure enough, he saw two ads that appeared to be his property. He responded to the ad pretending to be an interested buyer and arranged a meet up with a man named Kyle Ramalho to purchase the goods.

When Cuthbertson arrived on the scene, he examined the items and checked the serial numbers, and they were indeed the items stolen from his wife’s car. He confronted the Ramalho, at which point, the thief tried to drive off. Cuthbertson somehow managed to get take the keys from the ignition, and a bystander who witnessed the altercation called police.

When police arrived on the scene they discovered more electronics in the Rhamalho’s car, which they also believe were stolen.

It may be hard to for the prosecution to prove that Rhamalho was the individual who actually committed the thefts, but he was caught red handed in possession of stolen property.

In California receiving stolen property can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the amount stolen. If the property stolen amounts to 0 or less, then it can only be charged as a misdemeanor according to Prop 47.

Any stolen property exceeding $950, however, is a wobbler crime that can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony. A felony receiving stolen property can result in as many as three years in jail. A misdemeanor conviction can result in up to one year in jail. Grand theft is also considered to be a wobbler and carries with it the same punishments as receiving stolen property.