Bad boys bad boys, whatcha gonna do (or the bag snatcher thread)

[lost_inbroad]

So I was set to spend a mellow evening in the big Z with Isha, island_girl and our prominent mod, slaphead. We started out at this cosy neighborhood bar..I initiated the evening with every possible girly drink there is...cosmo, mojito, sex on the beach, a couple of California bangers....when I noticed some guy taking his jacket off and somehow touching island_girl's purse sitting on a chair. I looked at him and he seemed to be steering clear from the purse. I trusted my first instinct and checked her jacket and purse to see whether all the content where still in place etc.....and told her to move the bag closer. Now, after the initial compilation of refreshing beverages the same guy moved in unnoticed, dropped his jacket over the aforementioned purse and snatched it and tried to make a run for the door....fortunately enough, I saw the eventualities take place from the corner of m eyes and yelled after him and followed said culpritt. He dropped the purse and proceeded to venture off....slaphead, the bartender and I followed him and had him cornered......now, in the heat of the moment...and with plenty of alcohol, none of us could think straight, so we let him go again....only to call the police afterwards. The moral of the story....you can be a total crime-fighting tough guy and still sip on a cosmo.....or, watch your belongings wherever you are...as you never know who is watching you.

[isha]

Yeah! The guys were total super-heroes - almost!

I was in the ladies room when all this went down and came out to an empty bar thinking they were all playing tricks on me by hiding! I even walked back to the bar shouting "now come on guys, come out wherever you are!" This was, of course, met by laughter from some of the other punters in the bar!

Then Island Girl dashes back inside to tell me what happened! I was well annoyed that the super-heroes let the thief go and so wished I'd been there when it all went down. Hehe!

We (well Island Girl and me ) were rewarded with a visit by two hunky spaceman looking police dudes. They looked so awesome and handsome in their 31st century far-out looking outfits.

Jokes aside, all's well that ends well in this case as the thief did not get away with anything and was lucky to get away at all.

I'm a die-hard Londoner and like to think of myself as being totally streetwise and walk around with eyes in the back of my head but tonight was real scary. Let your guard down, even just for a minute even in supposedly crime-free Switzerland (er, yeah right ) and the opportunistic thief is ready and waiting...

BIG hugs to you Lost-inbroad, Slaphead and the bartender for saving the day. XXX

[Mrs. Doolittle]

	Quote:	lost_inbroad
	Now, after the initial compilation of refreshing beverages the same guy moved in unnoticed, dropped his jacket over the aforementioned purse and snatched it and tried to make a run for the door....fortunately enough, I saw the eventualities take place from the corner of m eyes and yelled after him and followed said culpritt. He dropped the purse and proceeded to venture off....slaphead, the bartender and I followed him and had him cornered......now, in the heat of the moment...and with plenty of alcohol, none of us could think straight, so we let him go again....only to call the police afterwards. The moral of the story....you can be a total crime-fighting tough guy and still sip on a cosmo.....or, watch your belongings wherever you are...as you never know who is watching you.

Pity you let him go. I suspect it is not the first time he has tried this and won't be the last. Good news is he probably won't go back to that bar again as he will be recognized.

[Slaphead]

You know guys, in the light of day it's difficult to see what else we could have done other than let him go. Even if the we'd kept hold of the thief until the police got there it would have been our word against his, and as the thief was no longer in possession of the bag there would have been very little evidence against him, leaving him free to feed whatever BS excuse he wanted to the police.

Of course there was possibly the option of issuing summary justice there and then. However if we'd gone down that route then I fear it would have been us waking up in Untersuchungshaft this morning, rather than the criminal.

Sadly this happens a lot in the area we were, and most of the bars have signs warning about this. So if you're in, ahem, The Big Z as LiB likes to put it, then it really does pay to keep an eye on your stuff - and it was only because LiB had his eye on the ball that this didn't turn into a disaster for IG.

Anyway IG didn't lose her bag, and we all had a thoroughly entertaining evening. So I guess that's makes it a success.

[zymogen]

Like your avatar suggests - don't mess with LiB.

Good to hear that all of Island_Girl's belongings were retrieved and you had an enjoyable night out.

[Phil_MCR]

	Quote:	Slaphead
	You know guys, in the light of day it's difficult to see what else we could have done other than let him go. Even if the we'd kept hold of the thief until the police got there it would have been our word against his, and as the thief was no longer in possession of the bag there would have been very little evidence against him, leaving him free to feed whatever BS excuse he wanted to the police. Of course there was possibly the option of issuing summary justice there and then. However if we'd gone down that route then I fear it would have been us waking up in Untersuchungshaft this morning, rather than the criminal. Sadly this happens a lot in the area we were, and most of the bars have signs warning about this. So if you're in, ahem, The Big Z as LiB likes to put it, then it really does pay to keep an eye on your stuff - and it was only because LiB had his eye on the ball that this didn't turn into a disaster for IG. Anyway IG didn't lose her bag, and we all had a thoroughly entertaining evening. So I guess that's makes it a success.

Wouldn't accusations of summary justice also be your word against his (assuming he can still talk, recall the incident)

[swissotter]

Wow, I am so picturing you,SH and le bartender - the three people in ZH i would least want to chase after me....
Well done real life superheroes (who drink girly drinks...)

[island_girl]

I'd like to thank my darling superhero LIB and the lovely Slaphead for their heroic doings...if it wasn't for LIB being so observant my night would have ended much differently, instead we all had a blast (including the lovely Isha). Keep your eyes on your belongings at all time because they can dissapear in a split second.

[Sky]

awesome EF dudes !

[Slaphead]

Just a quick update on this.

I've just had a word with the guy who runs the place and he confirmed that we really had no choice other than to let him go. He's caught several thieves over the years and unfortunately the fact of the matter is that once the stolen items are handed back there is very little the police can do. What's worse is that holding the suspect could very well result in a complaint against you - he's had this happen, however luckily the police were sensible about it and threw the complaint out.

He also told me to look at it from the police's perspective. One person is saying "he stole my bag", but the other is saying "but officer, I picked the bag up by mistake, and as soon as I was alerted to my mistake I handed it back". You know, I know, and the police know the guy's a shifty, slimey MF, but there's not a single chance of prosecution.

It's crap, but it appears that the only time it becomes a crime is when you've actually lost what's been stolen.

[olygirl]

Did anyone take the thief's picture? Might be handy for the bartender to have when the guy enters his bar again.

[Slaphead]

	Quote:	olygirl
	Did anyone take the thief's picture? Might be handy for the bartender to have when the guy enters his bar again.

Nope, but it was one of those facepalm moments when we were discussing it afterwards and realised that we all had cameras on us.

[Oldhand]

These people are evil and have no respect, I've suffered their evil deeds and would gladly punch their lights out if I got the chance. Well done LIB and Slapper.

[cannut]

	Quote:	Slaphead
	Nope, but it was one of those facepalm moments when we were discussing it afterwards and realised that we all had cameras on us.

No need for cameras,there are other ways.Never forget ,it is very hard to pick up teeth's with broken fingers

[Phil_MCR]

	Quote:	Slaphead
	Nope, but it was one of those facepalm moments when we were discussing it afterwards and realised that we all had cameras on us.

or maybe it was a 'slap head' moment

oh well, i guess after a few beers and adrenaline running, nobody can be expected to think logically. glad everything worked out ok.

i imagine that quite a few of these guys would be 'known to the police' or at least that is the case in the UK.

[Galatea]

My colleague had her bag snatched while we were out wining and dining a visiting Prof at Zeughauskeller. We dashed after them but they got off with her work bag with basically her life in it.

Fortunately, I had got a good look at the two men as they came in and was able to give a perfect description to the police. They were rather shocked at the detail I was able to give until we explained we were psychologists who studied details of faces for a living.

To cut a long story short, the bag was recovered the whole gang (5 illegal immigrants from Algeria) were arrested and we had to go to court as they were refusing deportation. The man accused me of being a police plant who had been given his photograph after the event but when I explained I would know him anywhere with his eyes, he shrugged and laughed in a resigned way!

I bet next time he wears sunglasses incase he steals from a load of Facial expression experts lol

Gal x

[Phil_MCR]

	Quote:	Galatea
	Fortunately, I had got a good look at the two men as they came in and was able to give a perfect description to the police. They were rather shocked at the detail I was able to give until we explained we were psychologists who studied details of faces for a living.

that's brilliant!

i love these weird and unexpected skills. somehow reminds me of the case where a drunk guy decides to fight with a bunch of guys in drag, not realising they were all cage fighters on a stag do: (look 1 minute into the video)

How does this work?

[Galatea]

	Quote:	Phil_MCR
	that's brilliant! i love these weird and unexpected skills. somehow reminds me of the case where a drunk guy decides to fight with a bunch of guys in drag, not realising they were all cage fighters on a stag do: (look 1 minute into the video)

actually FACS is more like this

How does this work?

and is used by homeland securities. Yes, I have had fun with that, as part of our training is learning to pull each facial muscle, waiting for entry into USA becomes a game!

And busting the Algerians seems way easier than walking around Swansea in drag!

[cannut]

	Quote:	Phil_MCR
	that's brilliant! i love these weird and unexpected skills. somehow reminds me of the case where a drunk guy decides to fight with a bunch of guys in drag, not realising they were all cage fighters on a stag do: (look 1 minute into the video) How does this work?

Wow !now thats funny

[Uncle Max]

All's well, but be wary of knowing it all. Recently at the Viadukt bar one of our party left in a hurry. Looking down at the vacated seat I saw his bag. Too late, he's gone. "Does anyone have his number?" "Noooo". Ok, so I picked it up, opened it hoping there'd be some personal ID. As I rummaged through, a chap who'd been sitting several seats away came back from the WC to see me pulling out kit from his bag. Hilarious back peddling ensues. I'm glad he wasn't Oldhand, y'know?