A little bit of background before I dive into the story... I live in South Philadelphia, I work in Malvern, PA (about an hour commute), I drive a 2010 Chevy Camaro, and I pay to park my car in a lot two blocks from my house.
<b>Part 1 - The Discovery</b>
So... this morning I went through my normal routine and walk to my parking lot to get my car and drive to work. As I approached my car around 6:30 AM, I noticed that my front passenger tire looked funny. As I got close I realized that my wheel was gone, instead, a milk carton was in it's place. I was astonished. Then I looked at the rear passenger side wheel and - milk carton. I'm starting to think 'WTF', this can't be real. I walked around to the other side of my car and - two more milk cartons.
<b>Part 2 - The Reaction</b>
Not knowing what else to do, I called the police and an officer came out to file a report. By the time this was done, I realized that there was no way I was going to make it to work. I briefly thought about taking the train, but then I realized that the shuttles from the train to my job would no longer be running by the time I arrived. I called my manager, cancelled my meetings, and decided to "work" from home. After speaking to State Farm, Chevy, and local body shops, I found out that the total cost to replace my wheels would be around $5,100. Luckily, I would only have to pay the deductible (for the most part). Then I received an instant message from my roommate...
<b>Part 3 - The Instant Message</b>
One of my roommates (there are 4 of us) send me a link through gchat so I clicked on it. <b>"REALLY!!!"</b> That was my reaction after following the link. Someone posted a set of 20" stock Camaro wheels on craigslist at 7:45 AM. They even included pictures. Coincidence? I didn't think so, so I decided to call the police. After being directed to the detective's division, I was notified that my assigned detective works the midnight shift, so I couldn't speak with them until midnight. After several minutes of begging, I convinced the detective on the phone to take a look into the craigslist coincidence. He seemed pretty convinced that these were my tires, but there was no way to prove it (there aren't any serial numbers on stock wheels). Then I received another instant message from my roommate...
<b>Part 4 - Really? Craigslist?</b>
My roommate looked up the number in the craigslist posting and discovered that there were four other postings with the same phone number. They were all listings for wheels or cars. I called the detective back to inform him just so he could see if there were other police reports of missing wheels or cars. He shrugged it off, but after a couple more phone calls I convinced him to make a move.
<b>Part 5 - The Set Up</b>
So the detective told me that he was going to try to set up a meeting with the craigslist poster to see if he/she would confess to the theft. Then he asked me if I could join so that I can ID the wheels and/or the suspect(s). I thought, "Wow... I was not expecting this when I woke up today." He set up the meeting and I convinced a friend to drive me to the meeting location. Minutes later, the detective called me and asked me to come ID the wheels. The two suspects were locked in police cars and the wheels were laid out on the pavement. Yes - the wheels were mine. Same size. Same tires. Same scratches (I hit a pothole once). They asked me to ID the suspects, but I didn't recognize them - that was pretty awkward though. I spoke with the detective some more and he asked me to come back to the station for some additional questioning.
<b>Part 6 - The Recovery</b>
Back at the police station. After waiting for 45 minutes, the detective pulled me in for questioning. He asked me the same questions that he asked me throughout the day, but I guess he just wanted to document everything. After the interview, he told me to call my friend to get a ride back because I'm taking the tires with me.
<b>Part 7 - The Summary</b>
So basically, my tires were stolen, my roommate did some detective work online, the police did a mini sting operation, and I got my tires back - all within 24 hours. Now I just need someone to help me get my car off these cartons. I would say that's a pretty eventful day.
<b>Part 1 - The Discovery</b>
So... this morning I went through my normal routine and walk to my parking lot to get my car and drive to work. As I approached my car around 6:30 AM, I noticed that my front passenger tire looked funny. As I got close I realized that my wheel was gone, instead, a milk carton was in it's place. I was astonished. Then I looked at the rear passenger side wheel and - milk carton. I'm starting to think 'WTF', this can't be real. I walked around to the other side of my car and - two more milk cartons.
<b>Part 2 - The Reaction</b>
Not knowing what else to do, I called the police and an officer came out to file a report. By the time this was done, I realized that there was no way I was going to make it to work. I briefly thought about taking the train, but then I realized that the shuttles from the train to my job would no longer be running by the time I arrived. I called my manager, cancelled my meetings, and decided to "work" from home. After speaking to State Farm, Chevy, and local body shops, I found out that the total cost to replace my wheels would be around $5,100. Luckily, I would only have to pay the deductible (for the most part). Then I received an instant message from my roommate...
<b>Part 3 - The Instant Message</b>
One of my roommates (there are 4 of us) send me a link through gchat so I clicked on it. <b>"REALLY!!!"</b> That was my reaction after following the link. Someone posted a set of 20" stock Camaro wheels on craigslist at 7:45 AM. They even included pictures. Coincidence? I didn't think so, so I decided to call the police. After being directed to the detective's division, I was notified that my assigned detective works the midnight shift, so I couldn't speak with them until midnight. After several minutes of begging, I convinced the detective on the phone to take a look into the craigslist coincidence. He seemed pretty convinced that these were my tires, but there was no way to prove it (there aren't any serial numbers on stock wheels). Then I received another instant message from my roommate...
<b>Part 4 - Really? Craigslist?</b>
My roommate looked up the number in the craigslist posting and discovered that there were four other postings with the same phone number. They were all listings for wheels or cars. I called the detective back to inform him just so he could see if there were other police reports of missing wheels or cars. He shrugged it off, but after a couple more phone calls I convinced him to make a move.
<b>Part 5 - The Set Up</b>
So the detective told me that he was going to try to set up a meeting with the craigslist poster to see if he/she would confess to the theft. Then he asked me if I could join so that I can ID the wheels and/or the suspect(s). I thought, "Wow... I was not expecting this when I woke up today." He set up the meeting and I convinced a friend to drive me to the meeting location. Minutes later, the detective called me and asked me to come ID the wheels. The two suspects were locked in police cars and the wheels were laid out on the pavement. Yes - the wheels were mine. Same size. Same tires. Same scratches (I hit a pothole once). They asked me to ID the suspects, but I didn't recognize them - that was pretty awkward though. I spoke with the detective some more and he asked me to come back to the station for some additional questioning.
<b>Part 6 - The Recovery</b>
Back at the police station. After waiting for 45 minutes, the detective pulled me in for questioning. He asked me the same questions that he asked me throughout the day, but I guess he just wanted to document everything. After the interview, he told me to call my friend to get a ride back because I'm taking the tires with me.
<b>Part 7 - The Summary</b>
So basically, my tires were stolen, my roommate did some detective work online, the police did a mini sting operation, and I got my tires back - all within 24 hours. Now I just need someone to help me get my car off these cartons. I would say that's a pretty eventful day.
Craziness. 
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