theft news stories on Newser

Guy Finds Stolen Bike on Craigslist, Steals It Back

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:07:05 CDT

When Danny Lesh found his stolen bike listed for sale on Craigslist and police couldn’t help him right away, he decided to take matters into his own hands. The $600 Cannondale hybrid, which had a prominent identifying sticker on it, was listed for sale for $100 and Lesh arranged to...

Shoplifters Caught With $20K in Cosmetics: Police

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:10:00 CDT

Police say they caught a pair of women shoplifting at a JC Penney this week in the suburbs of Washington, DC. No big deal, except the women had allegedly stuffed $20,000 in stolen beauty products into their shopping bags and car trunks, the Washington Post reports. Police accuse Darquesha...

Guy Used Stolen Bobcat to Steal 2 Deodorant Cans

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:39:05 CDT

A Chicago man allegedly took quite a few pains to break into a dollar store and steal deodorant: Police say the suspect first stole a Bobcat loader from a construction site a block away, then used it to break the windows at West Side Family Dollar. In addition to the...

Thieves Make Off With 10-Ton Bridge

Evann Gastaldo — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:00:05 CDT

How to steal a 10-ton bridge? Easy: Just pretend you've been hired to demolish it. That's what a gang of metal thieves allegedly did in the Czech Republic recently, showing employees at a depot forged paperwork and telling them the bridge over unused railroad tracks needed to come down. "The...

'Hypnotist Thieves' Stir Fear in Boston's Chinatown

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:17:28 CDT

A woman in Boston's Chinatown claims that a trio of thieves hypnotized her into handing over $160,000—and the police are taking this seriously, the Boston Herald reports. The 57-year-old Cantonese speaker says three women stopped her on the street, did a little hocus pocus, and sent her home...

Thieves' Latest Target: Manhole Covers

Kevin Spak — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:38:15 CDT

A crime spree is tearing up the streets of New York—literally. More than 30 manhole covers have been stolen in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx in recent weeks, the New York Times reports, which is pretty startling, given that usually only two or three go missing all year. It...

Woman Arrested After Picking Up Dropped Cash

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:25:05 CDT

Finder, keepers does not apply here. Police nabbed a Philadelphia woman who picked up $2,300 in cash off the floor in a convenience store and kept it. The problem, police say, is that she knew it fell out of the pocket of the customer in front of her and...

Man Faces 5 Years for Stealing McDonald's Soda

Rob Quinn — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:00:56 CDT

A Florida man has been charged with a felony for swiping a soda from McDonald's. Police say Mark Adaire, 52, walked into a McDonald's restaurant, asked for a cup of water, and then filled the cup with soda and left without paying. Adaire, who swore at the manager after she...

Man Steals Cops' Gas, Posts Photo on Facebook

Rob Quinn — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:15:05 CDT

How to go jail in two easy steps: 1. Siphon gas from a police car. 2. Post a photo of yourself siphoning gas from a police car on Facebook. Kentucky man Michael Baker, 20, was arrested and charged with theft after cops got wind of the photo he had shared,...