Can I Get Some Opinions On An Occurence At The Lake?

[airborne_angler]

So there's a guy locally that goes out to the lake I fish...in fact that's where i met him.We arent good friends,I have him on my Facebook,and we comment on each others stuff.He's even invited me out on hos Bass boat.

He was at the lake yesterday.He went into the boat ramp before I did.His fishing partner was sitting at the ramp and we got to chatting. Then his partner says " what's taking him so long,he left like 20 minutes ago to go get the truck."

I go to retrieve my vehicle,and discovered the rear lock to my hatch has been tampered with and it appears someone tried breaking into my vehicle.

At the boat ramp i called this guy over and warned him that someone true jimmying my lock. He looks at the lock and says something about it appearing the lock was drilled. Then playfully he looks in my rear window and say " so what you got in here"...Then without missing a beat,he starts talking about the length of my trailer and jokes about my 10 inch tires and wheels. We part company...thoughts and opinions please....

[dale.m]

Smack him with a 10" plastic worm. There is nothing more satisfying.

[airborne_angler]

And how do I know this happened while my vehicle was at the lake you ask. I NEVER lock my vehicle any other time. I locked my vehicle after I parked it,and the lock was just fine any it functioned...now it doesn't function at all.

[dale.m]

It does sound pretty sketchy. Good thing nothing got stolen I guess. I'd try to keep it locked and parked in a super visible area. If it happens again notify a warden and let him know what has been going on. I wouldn't fish with whoever it is again though. He sounds like a total "donkey."

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Huh?

Other than your truck getting messed with, I don't see what your issue is?

Perhaps he was trying to just joke around with you and lighten you up. I mean, what else is there? If you think he did something, get some proof and confront him.

Your story doesn't lead me to believe anything and, frankly, doesn't make much sense.

[TommyBass]

How does that not make sense to you? A guy's truck gets tampered with while he talks to another guy down at the ramp. It just so happens that this other guy is friends with the missing guy that has been gone a suspisciously long time. In the SAME area that his truck was tampered with at. If anything you'd think he would have seen someone doing it.

Granted, no, he dosn't have any proof. But it would leave me suspicious too. It could also be total coincidence.

[Nashua Nev]

No comment on the guy, but we had our tailgates stolen from our trucks while we were out fishing. There were atleast 4 pick-ups at the ramp with no tailgates.

We now make sure everything is locked up including the new tailgate with a lock , including the trailer to the to the ball and the receiver pin is locked thru the hitch.

Sucks that this type of stuff happens. we know we are just a rock away from getting the window broken or lock drilled some dark morning at 4am... we try to make sure we leave nothing in the truck of value if we can.

[B@ssCrzy]

Definitely fishy, but you don't have proof so at this point seems like all you can do is wait until the time comes when he does get caught. If you find yourself in the same situation next week I would definitely be making an excuse for a reason to head back to my truck to check on things.

[quanjig]

Not sure you can pinpoint a time frame your vehicle was tampered with unless you just dumped the boat in and jumped back off your boat at the ramp and looked at the damage. Is that how it happened, because the way you told the story was confusing??!!

[tyrius.]

You're story is soft (confusing) on the details. It sounds like you both were at a big lake fishing all day and your truck was vandalized sometime during that day.

If that's the case, then the odds of it being the guy are small.

My thoughts and opinions are i dont' really understand your story nor why you think this guy had anything to do with it.

[wademaster1]

personally, if it were me and i really thought the guy did something like that i would be out on the water and not mention a thing about it to the guy the next time you see him; while both of you are out on the water id get a trusted friend in on the deal and when you see the suspect head back to the ramp get your friend to sit close by and see what happens when he goes by your truck or whatever; this will often be the deal breaker; if he stops and looks at your truck or anything suspicious i would get authorities in on it unless you wanna confront him personally; and on the other hand if your not real suspicious of this guy in particular then just park in a better place or something from now on; but either way i wouldnt let it go without doin something; good luck; keep us posted

[airborne_angler]

I was on the water from 10am until dark. This guy showed up around 4 pm. Yes something could've happened in all that time when we were BOTH on the water....whatever. The boat launch isn't very far from.the parking lot...walking there and back might take me 7 minutes if that...I have no proof,but can't help but wonder. This guy has an arrest record for shoplifting,burglary and theft,and has been charged at least 7 times according to publicly accessible court records. Just last year he changed his last name...wonder if he wanted to wipe his slate clean as his old last name had a reputation.

[rockchalk06]

I'm not your dad, but someone with more than one arrest or incident of theft can't be trusted in my opinion. Once is a fluke, oops I was being a stupid sumbitc* but twice shows intent and a pattern.

Cut your losses now and don't risk anything else. If you confront him and things go south, your post here and the fact that have not alerted the authorities of this shows premeditation on your part if things really go south. Not worth sitting in jail for beating him down or as Dale.m put it, slapping him with a 10" worm.

[rockchalk06]

Also remember charges are not convictions.

[Redlinerobert]

Considering that 2nd bit of information, I think you need to find new friends.

[shootermcbob]

Considering that 2nd bit of information, I think you need to find new friends.

This

[airborne_angler]

Something else to consider. I go to the lake at least once a week,and most of the times im the last individual off the water...after dark.

In all the times I have gone to the lake this year,this guy in question, hasnt been around...the one time he does come around...my vehicle gets tampered with...Coincidence? Sad thing is...I made a joke to his fishing partner who was waitin,and was wondering what was taking so long...I jokingly said..."Hes probably up there letting the air out of my tires..."

Well that didnt happen,but if indeed this guy did tamper with my vehicle...I wasnt far off...

I called the lake just now and asked if anyone had reported a break in of thier vehicle. The guy told me that there was a red truck the other night that was broken into. That red truck was parked next to my Vehicle. $300 A purse an some expensive camera equipment was taken from that red truck...There was a gun in the red truck but it wasnt was taken.

So that means there were 3 vehicles in the parking lot. The guy in question,the red truck and my vehicle. My vehicle got tampered with and the red truck got broken into but the guy in questions vehicle wasnt touched!!! Too much of a red flag

Coincedence?

I reported as much info to the store owner as possible,Ive been on this guys boat,Ive ridden with him to the lake in his truck,I picked his brain,I kinda know his past...i know what hes capable of!! So anyone care to tell me "who dun it?"

[deaknh03]

I don't think it matters "who dun it", what you have to do is learn from this and protect your stuff. Don't leave any valuables in your truck, and I personally would distance myself from this repeat offender.

[Bassn Blvd]

Huh?

Other than your truck getting messed with, I don't see what your issue is?

Perhaps he was trying to just joke around with you and lighten you up. I mean, what else is there? If you think he did something, get some proof and confront him.

Your story doesn't lead me to believe anything and, frankly, doesn't make much sense.

X2

[Bassn Blvd]

install video on your truck. You can use small, covert cameras or regular video camera.

[scrutch]

If it looks like a duck...

Yes, you have no proof. But you have your gut feeling. You don't need to accuse him of anything to protect yourself accordingly.

If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting.

Change up your routine, find another ramp, another lake, something.

Protect yourself.

[RobertBG]

If it looks like a duck...

Yes, you have no proof. But you have your gut feeling. You don't need to accuse him of anything to protect yourself accordingly.

If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting.

Change up your routine, find another ramp, another lake, something.

Protect yourself.

either do this or rig up a camera and catch him in the act.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

sounds shady to me...go with your gut instinct. like others said, id definilty distance myself from that guy and dont leave anything valuable in your truck. its sucks that you have to worry about that kind of stuff when your just out trying have a relaxing day on the lake. whats the world coming to? cant we all just get along and fish?

[Sam]

1. Invest in an outdoor camera, batteries and card.

2. Take camera with you to ramp parking area.

3. Hide camera in bushes or trees and aim it at truck.

4. Retrieve camera when you get back from fishing.

5. Check pictures on computer.

My wife and I have one of these cameras in our back yard to view the wildlife that passes through.

This summer my wife asked me to position the camera so that it focused on the door into our crawl space so we could see what the termite guy did during his inspection.

Turns out the guy opened the door, looked in, turned and looked into the kitchen bay window to make sure no one was watching and then closed the door.

We reported him to his company and his manager defended the guy and was rude. So what did I do? I emailed the photos to the manager.

Talk about a 180* change in attitude. The manager called; apologized; and the manager came out to do the inspection.

For some unknown reason the camera broke and I now have a new one to set up.

A picture is worth a thousand words!!!!

[The Rooster]

It's been proven that when people have to wait, they perceive it to have been 23% longer on average than it actually has been. So it might not have been quite as long as it seemed that the guy was gone. Also, he might have gotten up there and noticed the damage to the other two trucks and spent some time inspecting his own to see if it had been tampered with, which could also explain why it seemed he was gone so long.

Bottom line is, that could have happened at anytime during the day and also to other people who returned and had the same thing happen but left before you ever found out about it happening to you. It could be a coincidence that that guy was returning at the same time as you and his truck wasn't touched. If you're going to steal, would you waste time trying to get into a truck that didn't have anything in it to take?? Maybe they saw his had nothing. There are a dozen ways to look at this, and none of it makes the guy guilt free but definitely doesn't prove he did it either, nor does it prove anything at all except that two trucks were tampered with by somebody at sometime during the day.

I wasn't there, so I don't know if he had anything in his truck or not, or if you did either. So don't take this as me trying to prove something. I'm just offering other ways to look at it from a 3rd party, unbiased person with a clear mind on the matter, able to see it in ways that you may not think of for being upset by it all.

Having said all that, I'd get away from that guy totally. Leave him as a friend on Facebook, so he doesn't suspect. You can also monitor his posts that way too. Maybe you'll know when he's going to the lake, or has been. Also, speak to him when you see him in passing, so you dont become a constant target of his. But riding to the ramp with him, fishing with him, and other outside contacts, I wouldn't be caught dead doing that. Anyone with that record, I would not associate with at all, ever, as they are beneath me and not of the same caliber of person that I'm trying to be. I'd also be aware of him in the future as well, that even while being friendly to your face, he would still steal from you behind your back. Maybe next time, he'll get caught by you and then it can be proven if you are aware and do not let your guard down.

As to what you might have done in that situation that night?? There were two of them so it was stay with the boat and let the first guy attempt to vandal your truck, or tie off and go to the truck and risk the second guy stealing from your boat. Bad situation. Unfortunately, the answer is to have been off the water before dark and maybe not even going alone to begin with. People are sometimes targeted based on how easy they have made themselves to be targeted.