Seriously, who steals lawnmowers?

[TheImperial]

Sometime in the middle of the night, some dumbasses drove into our backyard, broke the lock on our shed, broke into our storage shed, and stole our John Deere riding lawnmower.

[.rant]

Seriously?! Who the crap steals a freakin lawnmower?

Probably some cheap-bear drinking, tobacco-chewing, Nascar-watching redneck.

GAH!

I am so ready to get out of and far away from Oklahoma. I'm going to miss the good food, but that's just about it.

[./rant]

[Malibu Sally]

Well honestly Imp. Why spend $1500 on a new one when they can get a used one for free from your backyard. :p ;)

Sorry to hear about that. People will steal anything.

And Oklahoma is not the only place with good food. :D

[TheImperial]

...Why spend $1500 on a new one ...

Try in the neighborhood of $2500 to $3000 - we've got a big yard.

[Malibu Sally]

Why spend $2500 on a new one when they can get a used one for free from your backyard. :p

[Randomus]

Anyone who tries to drink cheap bears is bound to be the kind of person who steals lawn mowers.

[Sebastian Kain]

Really Sorry to hear that Imp, My father had his mower stolen for him by our damn relatives back when I was 8.:|

Also moving this to the rant forums.

[Meltman]

Anyone who tries to drink cheap bears is bound to be the kind of person who steals lawn mowers.

Why would you want to drink any kind of bear? Wouldn't the fur get all over the place?

[ThunderMace]

I feel for you, Imp.
We had our riding lawnmower stolen once when I lived up in Illinois.
Story time:
I had a big push mower that quit on me and I couldn’t fix. Visually it was fine, however.
I got the bright idea to put it in the back of the truck when I left it in the airport parking lot for a week while I was out of town on business. I thought for sure it would get stolen as it looked almost new. When I made it back on Friday, no such luck. It was still sitting in the back of my truck in all its glory.
So I pulled out of the parking spot and then took the mower out of the back and left it in the middle of the parking spot I had just vacated.
I often wonder what the airport security people thought when they saw a parking space taken up by a lawn mower.

Ok back to your rant now.
BTW I take umbrage at the nascar remark.

[Masked Revenger]

Yeah, it amazes me what people will steal.

Last year, my parents had Christmas decorations stolen off their yard. Christmas decorations!!!

It just simply amazes me.

Have the cops given you any hope to belive that they can recover the mower?

Chris

[Randomus]

Why would you want to drink any kind of bear? Wouldn't the fur get all over the place?
Also it would kill you. That's what I have learned from The Great Colbert And His Giant Balls.

[Malibu Sally]

Last year, my parents had Christmas decorations stolen off their yard. Christmas decorations!!!

It just simply amazes me.
Not me. Your parents could have painted piles of buffalo crap red and green for Christmas and someone still would have taken them.

[T!M]

I can see it. John Deere's are top of the line.

Sad thing is, it had to of been someone you know cause the person knew what he wanted and knew how to get it...

[Murphy's Law]

I can see it. John Deere's are top of the line.

Sad thing is, it had to of been someone you know cause the person knew what he wanted and knew how to get it...

Strangely enough this is probably true. I'd start checking out the homes of friends & family, particularly ones who showed any previous interest in the mower.

[TheImperial]

Actually, this appears to be the work on some pseudo-professional thieves. Anther house a few miles away had their rider stolen with the exact same MO:
- shed in backyard
- lock cut
- middle of night
- truck driven into the yard
- tiretracks everywhere

The big problem with this is mainly that we live on the corner of our housing division and a main road (main for the outskirts of a suburb, anyway) and we do not have a fence. So, tons of people have seen the mower in action over the last few years.

There's no telling.

[Malibu Sally]

Alas, it is either in parts or in South America by now. :(

[Solario]

Captain America is definently your theif. I'd rather not think of what he's (Not Safe for Work, 18+) doing with it right now (http://www.tabloidcowboy.com/gallery/albums/userpics/Cap1.jpg).

(Okay, so I'm trying to make light of a serious issue, so sue me. ;))

[TheImperial]

That is almost the worst picture I've ever seen.

[Solario]

It's also the reason Tony Moore only does Image and DC work. I think. ;)


... Hey wait, almost? Weak.

[Embers]

Honestly people will steal anything, if they didn't i wouln't have a job as secuirty.
My grandmother has christmas lights stolen everyyear.

When you first moved she bought these two failry big planter's boxs. They were nothing fancy just white planters, anyways she filled them with soils and flowers, set them on her front porch ( or more llike my cousin and I had to lug these things to the front porch) anyway two nights later, they were stolen, it was like a truck drove right up to her front porch and loaded them up.


If you buy it, they will steal it.

[T!M]

Dude Gets Cought with Stolen Lawn mowers! Look Familiar!?!??!?


http://www.break.com/index/coplawn.html

[Xielos]

Back during the Hurricanes, out neighbors had some plywood stolen while they were boarding up their house, lucky they had some leftover.

[Remianen]

Alas, it is either in parts or in South America by now. :(

Actually I doubt it.

I dunno if anyone else is aware of it, but there's a "sport" for racing modified riding lawnmowers. Incidentally, I was taken to an event in Miami, Oklahoma. That's probably where the stolen ones will end up. It gets to be expensive getting new equipment, especially before you line up sponsorships (think NASCAR, with all the stickers and such on the "car"). Much easier to hit some suburbanites for their mowers and save yourself some cash. At least that's the idea I got ("Damn, where do you get all the lawnmowers to work on?"..."We get 'em."). But this was like '98 or so (I was interviewing for an assistant coaching position at a junior college in MI-AM-UH).

And people will steal anything of any inherent value (whether real or perceived). Last week, someone stole two novels I got from the Mystery Book Club right off my stoop. Neighbor saw the mailman drop it at my door then minutes later, she saw some guy walking briskly from my door to the gate. I'm guessing he'll try to sell 'em but I don't think anyone in Bushwick reads Patricia Cornwell. :p Another neighbor found the discarded box (with the invoice still attached) around the corner when he was coming home from Kingdom Hall.

And yes, I think they were "pros" (at least pros at stealing lawnmowers kept in common places within a certain area). If you know that everyone in a particular neighborhood or community keeps a particular item of value in the same general location, it doesn't take much skill to extricate the item from multiple houses. It's like storing your jewelry in a jewelry box. Doesn't take a cat burglar to figure out where the ice is. But hopefully, your homeowner's/renter's insurance covers it. That's usually the justification car thieves and burglars use to convince themselves it's not costing a mark anything (even though that's patently false and common sense, hello higher premiums!).

I'd say definitely file a police report and make sure the cops understand the MO being used (and that they actually PAY ATTENTION to it, freakin' Barney Fifes). 90% of repeat occurrences can be avoided if the police actually take them seriously ("Freakin' lawnmowers? Pfft, call us when they steal your CAR") but oftentimes they don't until it qualifies as "a rash of burglaries" or a "string", which usually denotes 4-6 or more. :(