News > Geek > Dumbass Steals Car, Gets Caught by Car Forum Members

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SUNDAY APRIL 13 2008 11:00 AM

Dumbass Steals Car, Gets Caught by Car Forum Members

Submitted by punk

Edited by punk

Tags: car, thief, skyline, GT, Nissan, Canada, hockey, vigilante, justice, hosers

From Slashdots crowdsourcing-justince department comes the heartwarming tale of a stolen car, the idiots who stole it, and a posse of car enthusiast-slash-forum-posters turned detectives who tracked the orchestrator of the act down and got him arrested.

The car had been imported from Japan by Shaun Ironside for his dealership. Despite its reserved appearance, the Skyline GT-R is something of a performance icon to car enthusiasts and video gamers; it fit well among the Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes in Mr. Ironsides inventory.

One of the men had been to the dealership a week earlier for a ride, but he and Mr. Ironside didnt get far. The car, with an engine modified for extra horsepower, began to act up. When the man returned with a friend for another try, Mr. Ironside was juggling two customers, so he just handed them the keys, explaining that there was only enough gas in the tank for a drive around the block.

The car did not come back. As Mr. Ironside put it, it went for a permanent test drive. He quickly posted a plea for help at Beyond.ca, where in a matter of days, a forum member was able to capture a picture of the suspect, inside the car, displaying the hand disfigurement that unquestionably identified him.

Soon after, another member spotted the suspect driving the car and tailed him, locating the morons home. The picture mentioned earlier was used to track down his Facebook page. Forum members eventually drove to the suspects home, blockaded the road with their vehicles. The owner of the car joined them and called the police, who responded in minutes. Someone had the presence of mind to video-tape the arrest:

you want to go on a test drive? Hows the car? the man behind the camera asks - absolutely priceless. Jamie The Claw Jacobson (nickname given to him by forum members), 18 years old, now faces charges of theft over $5,000 and a court date on April 16th.

His friend in the car lost his hat to an eBay auction. No word on criminal charges for the Yankee's fan, or whether or not he was arrested.

The hat was found after the car was searched, along with receipts from a car wash and a 4-liter jug of oil. I guess Jamie-boy thought he was going to keep his new wheels.

Some are arguing the vigilante-esq tactics of the individuals who were instrumental in catching the thief. Should they have left the police work to the police or gone through with their efforts that ultimately landed Bozo in jail?

punk has been witness to the recovery of at least two vehicles via the efforts of VW Vortex members here in Arizona.

You can view the original call for help and the events that followed in the original forum post, here

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Comments

Bill_the_Cat

North Vancouver, BC

May 2005

APR 14, 2008 09:59 AM

Ok so now what? Anybody feel like a beer?

MisterSatan

Portland, OR

August 2002

APR 14, 2008 10:00 AM

Bill_the_Cat said:
Ok so now what? Anybody feel like a beer?

Sounds good to me. Hey, anyone know when Lost is coming back on the air?

RedBstrd

Riverside, CA

April 2004

APR 14, 2008 10:07 AM

michaeljtoo said:

MrCrisp said:
awww, poor criminal. can't stand a little ridicule and exposure.

Well, that's the point, isn't it? He's not a criminal until the facts have been sorted out--and I don't mean on the internet--and he either confesses or is found guilty after a legal process. It's slow, but the opposite of this is called "fascism."

I do applaud the actions of these "fresh roosters," however, right up to the point where they acted like fresh roosters.

No, someone is a criminal the moment they commit a crime. They are presumed innocent in the legal system until the facts have been sorted out and he has been found guilty through a standard legal process. As observers we don't have to suspend judgment until a trial has taken place (unless we plan to serve on the jury).

It's not "fascism" unless the court system presumes him guilty before the legal process. That issue, however, is independent of what people removed from the jury and court say or believe.

By the way, if you want to throw around the label "fascist" I should point out that a prostrate public/civil society - one that is unable/forbidden to form or voice opinions until the government (or its branches) has told them what to think - is an attribute of a fascist society.