Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[Joel Gwadz]

Strange as it may seem...
My 17 year old truck was stolen and returned.

I was riding my bicycle home from work and noticed my truck was not in the space where I had parked it the day prior. Knowing that people can be forgetful, I doubled back and checked the whole block several times, got a laugh from some friends. They thought I was trying to lengthen my work out. When I told them that my truck was gone. They were convicnce that I had just forgotten where I parked it and laughed some more.

Long story short (although it is too late for this already)
I went home and took a shower and checked some emails. I got out the phone book and started looking for some nonemergency numbers, thought maybe the truck had been wrongly towed. Then my wife walks in the door. She stares at me wide eyed. I tell her that my truck has been stolen. Before I can finish that statement she is excitedly telling me that she just saw the truck heading down Lamont Street. She had assumed it was me driving it. But how could I be in two places at the same time.

I call the police. And rush down the block on bicycle. Thinking I may catch them at a rush hour packed intersection. But as I head down Lamont Street I see my truck. Right there on the 1800 block of Lamont. I laughed and felt stupid for not seeing it all along. I head for home feeling stupid for running around like a chicken with its head cut off. As I get to my house the police are pulling up infront of my place. I send them off with my deepest apologies. They are cool and understanding. These things happen.

I go home and assure my wife that my truck was there all along. She tooks me dead in the eye and tells me it was my truck. She saw it starting to park on the lower section of Lamont. SO I rush back on the bike and head down the block. Sure enough the engine is hot! Fluids are a boiling! My car was driven and was parked seconds ago. I rush to the 7-11 thinking I may find an officer there. No luck. I pedal back to home to make another call to the police, but see a cruiser headed towards 16th on Lamont. I tell him about my truck. He radios the information in to another crew.

I head down to my truck. I stand guard. To avoid messing with the crime scene I touch nothing. Just peer in through the window to inspect for damage. No damage as far as I can see. No cigarette butts or empty coke cans (except for the cans I left days earlier) The truck has been returned respectfully. Well parked in a tight space.

The police are not as rapid in their response this time. All passerbys are forced to listen to my crazy rants of a truck stolen and returned.

Finally after another 911 call the police arrive.

Several cruisers including the original two officers.

My story is unbelievable. And it seems not to be believed. The engine is still hot. There is a trace of dripping fluid from the radiator creating an arc showing the path it tood to pull into the space. But they still seem hesitant. The fact that my wife saw the truck being driven and then saw me at when she walked into our house was not enough to validate my story.

The truck was returned. Be Happy. That is all that I seemed to get from these guys.

No dusting for prints nothing.

My time was wasted. Other than listening to my rants the officers did very little for me. Some of the humilitated me and treated me with disrespect. Their cross examination of my story over and over looking for a loophole or a flaw was aggravating. The denial from one officer that the engine was not hot was an insult. It was clearly hot. It was obvious that the truck had just been drive. My word that the truck was parked there and now was here should have been enough. I was made to feel like I was under investigation.

There were aspects of my police encounter that were positive. They did arrive quickly on the first call. One officer did try to explain certain aspects of the finger printing system and why it was not always helpful.

Glad to have my truck back

The ignition is being changed
The CLUB has been purchased and will be used this time.