Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
There's two problems with holding the guy for the cops, Larry. First and foremost--you can't do it legally. You can't detain someone for the police in Mass or make a "citizen's arrest" for a property crime. Even if the value of the bike is more than $250. The guy can pedal away and there isn't anything you can legally do to stop him. He isn't in the act of stealing your bike, and you don't know whether he's the guy who stole it.
Secondly, the police have no probable cause to arrest him for anything, even if you can ID it positively as your bike. You can't prove he was the thief, and you can't even prove that he knowingly received stolen property. The Bourne Police Department will not arrest him based on that, and they may not even be willing to order him to return it to you. I don't think that they have that legal authority. You have no proof of ownership--can you prove that it is the exact bike you owned and not just one that looks identical?
Don't throw good money after bad by getting yourself into a legal scrape that will force you to hire a lawyer.
When you get your new bike, have your name, address and phone number etched onto the frame somewhere where it's not readily visible. This will allow you to prove ownership down the road if someone steals it and you see it being ridden somewhere. Some police departments do this, and most bike shops will do it.
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Being in possession of recently stolen property, is in fact receiving stolen property, a felony if its over $250.00. They may not arrest him/her but they would be remiss in their duties if they don't take the bike and give you a day or so to bring in the receipt with the serial numbers on it to prove its yours. Police don't need a warrant to arrest someone for a felony. If the person who has the bike isn't forthcoming about who he bought it from then he could be summons into a court. This is fairly common. I wouldn't let anyone ride off on it if I was sure its mine. You don't have to touch the person, just hold onto the bike until you or someone can summons the authorities. MikeP I have never disagreed with you before with your post, but I do with some of the above.