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Former NASA Engineer Designed Glitter Bomb Trap To Avenge Amazon Delivery Theft Victims (cnbc.com)
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But for Mark Rober, it's much sweeter served smart, smelly and covered in glitter. From a report: The former NASA engineer-turned-YouTube star has received plaudits online after designing a booby trap to avenge all those who've fallen victim to a new wave of neighborhood crime: doorstep delivery theft. Rober spent six months combining GPS tracking, cameras, fart spray and glitter in an elaborate and amusing mechanism after discovering thieves had stolen an Amazon delivery from his doorstep.
In a video posted on his channel, the 38-year-old, who helped design the U.S. space agency's Curiosity Rover, said his engineering experience left him well-placed to "take a stand" after dismissive police left him feeling "powerless." "If anyone was going to make a revenge ... package and over-engineer the crap out of it, it was going to be me," said Rober, who spent nine years with NASA.
In a video posted on his channel, the 38-year-old, who helped design the U.S. space agency's Curiosity Rover, said his engineering experience left him well-placed to "take a stand" after dismissive police left him feeling "powerless." "If anyone was going to make a revenge ... package and over-engineer the crap out of it, it was going to be me," said Rober, who spent nine years with NASA.
Why do people find it acceptable that valuable packages are just left on the doorstep ? Where I live, the delivery guys ring the door bell, hands over the package, and takes my name and signature as proof of delivery.
What happens if the package gets stolen ? Does UPS pay you back ?
The only thing I could think of to make it better would be to have a small CO2 canister (like for BB guns), which sends the glitter flying everywhere rather than just around the box.
Other than that, maybe something even more smelly.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Well... given he’s attempting to be a YouTube star, he probably thinks that any publicity is good publicity.
I have to admit, when I see a “YouTube star” claiming to be a “former NASA engineer”, my first assumption is he actually shlepped technical drawings around between departments - or was in charge of keeping their monitors clean.
#DeleteChrome
I think he's pretty safe - he could always claim he left it out as a prank for a friend, and the thief got in the way. For something like this intent would matter.
Also he was smart in that it spread the glitter horizontally, not upward - again not putting it into the face of whoever opened the box.
The funny thing to me is that the thieves did have something pretty valuable since it had four phones with service plans, if they'd juts literally held their nose they could have had a bounty.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
He should sell these on Amazon.
Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
Others would have rigged some tear gas canister or an explosive device with a few handfuls of shrapnel. Glitter and fart spray is effective enough and at the same time whimsical enough to get away with it.
He has 4.4 million subscribers. He is a YouTube star, he's not just attempting to be one.
The device he created for distributing the glitter was a work of genius. Watch the videos, it is an amazing and beautiful creation.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
Maybe shouldnt be stealijg peoples packages then.
What if the package that was stolen had peanut butter in it and the person was deathly alergic ? Think they are going to be able to sue then ? No. THEY STOLE IT !.
You break the law, live with the consiquences.
Having not RTFA, I'm wondering where this guy used to work years ago. Seems like that'd be relevant and they could repeat it over and over to get a ton of mileage out of it.
Right - not anymore. But the people in the video also have shown they are not hurt at all so they couldn't claim harm at this point...
I'm talking more for future scenarios if someone would be liable if one o the thieves held onto the device and wanted to sue.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
In this particular case, worth it.
Though I wish that there was a practical means of spraying out ground-up crayon wax, something that would embed itself into the fabric and melt into place. Unfortunately it would probably congeal while sitting on the porch.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
The glitter being thrown about the car is definitely a danger to eyes as well as the respiratory system,
A valid complaint, although much lessened by the use of a thrower instead of a gas capsule.
the chemicals in the fart spray could trigger anaphylactic shock.
[citation needed]
I know this is a problem with some ingredients, and with some propellants... show us that it's a credible threat in this case.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Yep, felony theft limit varies by state, but is just $500 to $1000 - even if those are cheaper Android phones that package probably goes over the limit.
So you can claim damages, but also get a felony theft rap... hmm.
If someone already had a felony theft charge previously though, I wonder if it would be as much a deterrent.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Why would he bother faking it? It's easier to actually have a package stolen than it is to convince somebody to willingly cover their car in glitter.
Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
MagnaVolt!
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
I have to admit, when I see a “YouTube star” claiming to be a “former NASA engineer”, my first assumption is he actually shlepped technical drawings around between departments - or was in charge of keeping their monitors clean.
His Wikipedia page suggests he's a proper engineer: he has a Mechanical Engineering degree and a Masters (presumably in a related field), and he worked at JPL for 9 years, 7 of which were spent working on Curiosity.
Prior to this video, my wife and I had stumbled on a handful of his videos over the years. He's clearly a smart guy who is interested in making science and technology more fun and accessible to a wide audience. The sort of person who is capable of inspiring kids to pursue STEM. While we don't subscribe to his channel or seek his videos out, we've enjoyed the videos of his that have popped up as recommendations.
Are you in Europe or somewhere else with a Civil Law system?
In the US, Common Law does not have the Civil Law limitation that no one should benefit from a crime, even the victim, and reparations can exceed the damage, with civil tort laws allowing for substantial remuneration for things like infringement on rights and emotional distress.
Deliberate ignorance is the dumbest ignorance.
"Old man yells at systemd"
but that could also harm the intended recipient, or is that a spoiler
Because it wouldn't work properly and they wouldn't have footage plus they would lose the device each time which would cost them way more than $50. Damn, people are so naive. Most of Youtube is take. "Why would he bother faking it?". Because money.
This may depend on the jurisdiction, but I believe there's precedence for "anything bad that happens during/as a result of the commission of a crime is the responsibility of the person committing the crime."
How is this "negligence"?
And (b) You think any of those people are going to go to the police to explain what happened?
No sig today...
More booby-trapped packages in general might dissuade casual thieves. Ditto for law enforcement.
Meanwhile, thanks for doing the hard work and getting the publicity, Mark. Now, all I have to do to discourage theft is to put up a sign that says "Warning: packages may explode" with suitable graphic.
Seriously, what happened to the police's "broken windows" policy? I thought they were now supposed to investigate and prosecute small offenses like this to a) create a culture of obeying the law, and b) make citizens feel like the cops have their backs so they don't go vigilante. Which is what happened in this case.
This may depend on the jurisdiction, but I believe there's precedence for "anything bad that happens during/as a result of the commission of a crime is the responsibility of the person committing the crime."
If not then anybody could go around breaking windows and claim they cut their hand on your dangerous glass window.
(or any number of other frivolous damage claims)
No sig today...
I love that nobody seems to be annoyed that the thieves really have no legal risk, whereas Mr Rober is extremely vulnerable.
It seems to me with as much reach as he does, he could at least make single statement about that.
They are holding the evidence GUILTY here....should have shown their faces for the world to see....perhaps even the lazy police might even have recognized a few of them.
Sham he couldn't put something a bit more punishing in there than glitter and fart smell.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. As much as I think the package thief SHOULDN'T have a case, the American legal system is messed up. There have been instances of burglers breaking into homes, being injured, and suing the homeowner. This should be a case of "if you are injured in the process of committing an illegal act you have no recourse", but it - at best - turns into legal fees/hassles for the victimized homeowner and - at worst - can result in the homeowner victim needing to pay the thief.
So while I would hope that any reasonable judge would laugh the package thief out of court, I could see a thief winning or at least getting a full trial and costing the guy legal fees.
All this being said, I would love to see a package with a loud speaker system that shouted "PACKAGE THIEF" 30 seconds after it was moved.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
The whole thing is too perfect. Fake.
a) You think it's difficult to get a package stolen?
b) We didn't see all the videos that didn't make the grade.
No sig today...
How about something like Anthrax....and just take a few thieves/criminals out of the gene pool and be done with it?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Suing him would require admitting guilt in the package theft, which is probably just a misdemeanor, but could still result in some jail time. It would also put a jury against the thief. Given that he went for fairly non-lethal non-toxic components and went out of his way to show the non-toxic labels in his video, pursuing a case against him would be an uphill battle. Personally my first go-to for the chemical component would have been bear spray, which would be a lot sketchier, ethically speaking.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
A lot of the solutions seem to involve giving Amazon drivers access to your home (shudder), or a heavy metal dropbox with keys and the like ... I find myself wondering if you'd solve 90% or more of the problem by simply having a box to dump things in without any sort of smarts or security. These people come by and see a package, and then are in-and-out quickly. They presumably aren't as interested in walking up and digging around on your porch three times a day just in case there's a package.
Of course, delivery people ain't got time to put a package in a box, so most likely they'd just leave the package on top of or in front of the box.
"Congrats on finding someone who lets you penetrate their holes"
Well, you're obviously not married!
Depends on where he lives. Some states have laws about suing people for things that happen to you while committing a crime. In California, for instance, yeah, you could sue, but if you win, any money collected from the judgement is automatically seized for the victim restitution's fund - before the lawyers get their cut. Really cuts down on the bullshit.
The faces were probably pixelated because YouTube will take-down any video which features someone who did not agree to be in it -- if they lodge a complaint.
I've had this happen to one of my videos because someone, who was being a real arse, didn't want to be seen being a "real arse" so they complained.
No point in making a viral video if someone in it can have it pulled with a single complaint.
In my city, package theft, bike theft, car break ins are rampant. The police, no surprise, say that the are too busy with working more important crimes. This, though overall crime is way down (use this state chart as a place holder https://www.ppic.org/publicati...) and, again no surprise, the hiring of police officers is way up.
Why can't the police do a similar thing as this guy? Maybe without the glitter and and fart spray, but perhaps something similar to dye packs used in banks, though less powerful. It should be cheap and easy to GPS track a bait bike, package or take a picture when a bait car is broken into. The problem in my city is that the chance of a thief being caught, and then prosecuted are infinitesimally small. Making some examples of thieves and giving people a second thought as to whether or not their target is a honey pot would put these crimes of opportunity way down.
I had a friend who was sued by the robber who broke into hi house, then injured himself seriously by walking through the plate glass of the patio door. He won the lawsuit, for a considerable sum. We just love our lawsuits in the US.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
The real genius of this device is that it was designed to be funny without causing any kind of serious injury or damage. In fact you can hear some of the thieves on the video laughing. The glitter spreading mechanism is pretty lame; it's like shaking a box of litter around the edge of the box. He could have used a can of compressed air or some kind of pyrotechnic squib to distribute the glitter, and it would end up everywhere, but that includes peoples' eyes.
There are going to be the inevitable suggestions for how to make the device more damaging or dangerous; and the reason this guy didn't do anything like throwing dye or shrapnel isn't that he wasn't clever enough to see the possibilities. He was clever enough to see the weak point in his plans: the thief-turned-victim has your home address. Get too nasty and he might return the favor with a molotov cocktail or even a bullet.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I'd prefer gentian violet. Non-toxic, unless you're a fungus. But stains things purple (not a pleasant purple) and is quite difficult to remove. On skin you normally need to let new skin grow to replace the skin that got stained. But it's harmless even if it gets in your eyes.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
UPS/FedEx both give the shipper the option to require a signature for delivery. Upon not being able to deliver within the first 3 days, they'll hold at local location for another 3 business days.
That all being said, my USPS delivery person has been dropping packages off as much or more than the FedEx/UPS guys, so not sure what you're referencing there.
Also, as someone who ships multi-thousand dollar shipments on the regular that are not simple sizes, I would never give the client the option of USPS for these unless they're going to an APO/DPO type address. The things I've regularly seen done via the postal service scare me, and the price of shipping is insane (IE, shipping this from the midwest to California costs me roughly $40 via FedEx and UPS (one just over $40, the other just under), but priority Mail will cost $121).
If the customer wants it through the postal service, I warn them that I don't recommend it, the other carriers are usually quicker and offer better tracking, but if you want it, you're paying the difference between the cheapest shipping and the postal service. Most people don't even ask to, but every once in a while someone does and I give them the option of paying $80 more for it (in this example) and they choose FedEx or UPS.
"Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
I wonder why he "pixellated' the faces out of the criminals he caught on film here?
[...]
Sham he couldn't put something a bit more punishing in there than glitter and fart smell.
He pixelated their faces for the same reason that he can't spray them with purple dye — their commission of a crime doesn't excuse his. They are innocent until proven guilty in court, and showing their faces would create bias and is also a use of their likeness without their permission. While it seems to me that he would have a defense against such claims, IANAL and also why set yourself up for potential legal hassles beyond what's already possible due to glitter and farts?
perhaps even the lazy police might even have recognized a few of them.
Probably not, but if that's your goal then you send the video straight to the PD. He can mail them the original video on a DVD or something. I don't know about anyone else, but though I've taken the optical drive out of my primary PC for additional airflow, I've kept a couple of USB ones around and some media as well in case I want to send some data to someone else, through the mail.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Except if you watch Rober's other videos, he actually debunks other fake videos on YouTube that go viral. I guarantee you this video is legit. He is an engineer superhero.
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
UPS does have an option they just don't advertise it because too many people do it will have to increase shipping cost to account for it. Have it shipped to the customer pickup center address. they don't have any policies against allowing a customer to do that and so are they may be slightly surprised, still your name on the package so they can still release it to you. It's more of a pain in the ass not to release it to you . nobody is trying to add problems into their day
If not then anybody could go around breaking windows and claim they cut their hand on your dangerous glass window.
(or any number of other frivolous damage claims)
A friend of mine was sued by a robber for pretty much that. Fortunately, he had liability protection with his homeowners insurance.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
You fail the see the Genius behind this. Because he is recording it, it is classified as art. You can get away a lot of legal hurdles by calling it Art.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
> that he has set himself up for a huge lawsuit by whomever took the package.
And that is precisely why America is FUCKED.
Victim: I got tired of MY packages being stolen so I booby trapped them
Thief: I'm suing for emotional distress.
Victim: WTF!?
...that we live in a society where ambushing these pieces of shit is punished. You should be able to beat them with, say, up to a broom-handle.
I mean, no, I don't think it's justified to go all the way to kill them (although let's be clear: they're the sort of human trash that prevents us from having nice things), but honestly a booby-trap that blinds/maims them would be entirely justified in my book.
I guarantee you that these sorts of opportunistic thefts would decrease significantly.
-Styopa
I love that nobody seems to be annoyed that the thieves really have no legal risk
What about the risk of getting shot? Not every state criminalizes the defending of oneself or ones property.
It's not that simple. Anti-climb paint, for example, is only legal most places if you put up warning signs. That someone is breaking the law by climbing your fence doesn't remove your responsibility as it adds to his. Guilt is not a finite commodity, and a trespasser being guilty of entering doesn't make you not guilty of causing harm to his property. They are separate crimes.
Revenge is not a legal right, and most booby trap devices are just that, even if relatively harmless.
Where the discussion is moving towards he may cause physical harm. Plus the cost of this package to catch thieves in the act.
How about something simpler. A device that reacts by motion detection, which screams when picked up. "Help, Help. I am an Amazon Package that is being stolen by someone who is not the owner". Have this in a indefinite loop.
Would be a heck of a lot cheaper, and less chance of physical harm.
Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
Though I wish that there was a practical means of spraying out ground-up crayon wax, something that would embed itself into the fabric and melt into place. Unfortunately it would probably congeal while sitting on the porch.
I was going to suggest peanut butter powder, but ironically, that could actually hurt someone. Ditto my second choice, onion powder. Nobody is allergic to glucose, but it's a hazard to diabetics...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
A friend of mine was sued by a robber for pretty much that. Fortunately, he had liability protection with his homeowners insurance.
So a burgler went to the police to complain that he hurt himself while burgling a house?
Surely he'd need to take the police to the scene of the accident and explain how it happened.
Where do you live?
No sig today...
I think with the above argument there is the idea the Revenge is Justice.
If a thief broke into my house and is stealing $1000 worth of goods, I catch him, and hurt/injure/kill him. Then that is normal self defense, because this guy is unlawfully in my house, I an unable to calculate his risk to my immediate safety.
However after he leave my house with those goods, I cannot hunt him down and hurt/injure/kill him and I would then be guilty of a crime. Because my safety is currently secured, and I would be able to calculate the risks of such actions. And having the criminal arrested and sentenced to court for a Judge to impartially figure out what is Just for the actions.
So he stole my Laptop, I may want to kill him. However this loss of my laptop is a minor inconvenience to my life, and with calmer minds, would realize that and punish the criminal for the crime and not me gut feeling.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
What law do you claim he violated? I can't think of a single law that states that it is illegal to spray theives with glitter. In some states it is legal for him to shoot and kill the theif. Also, this is a design, which is protected by the first amendment. He could design a nuclear bomb and post it and be well within his rights ,(I am assuming US jurisdiction because NASA is a US agency.) IOW, do you put any thought at all into your words before you write them?
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Scientists have discovered a substance that reduces a woman's sex drive over time. They're calling it "wedding cake".
Good luck winning that case. No jury would award you a dime after you stole a package and it blew up on you.
honestly, I would have used semtex instead of glitter.
Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
the thief-turned-victim has your home address. Get too nasty and he might return the favor with a molotov cocktail or even a bullet.
That's why when you're dealing with criminals you do not "bother" them, you kill them.
Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
While I applaud Mr. Rober, I would think that he has set himself up for a huge lawsuit by whomever took the package.
Had you read his design info you would know he is more than fine with that.
If you watched the video even you would hear him imply that is desired.
To press a civil suit, the thief would need to admit to a felony criminal act and would be punished, which is all this guy wanted in the first place.
He also spent significant time building the thing. It's perfectly reasonable he would be willing to spend at least up to that much time going to the court to defend himself since that means the thief is 100% going to jail now. Again, that was the original goal.
Then the separate issue that having glitter delivered to you isn't a crime, so wouldn't be his fault the thief was exposed to it.
Commercially sold "fart spray" has never done anything like you just made up about it.
The onus is on the thief to show medical documentation such a thing is even possible, and if it was possible and there was such documentation the stuff wouldn't be on the market anymore.
At all but a city level this guy committed *no* crimes, but even if he chose to do so, if the police don't feel property theft is a worth while crime to peruse, now you know exactly the level of crime you can do and have it ignored too.
Just avoid crimes with higher punishment levels, as then you risk doing something the police *would* investigate.
But clearly he is already thinking along those lines, so will be fine there. After all, he could have stopped at the GPS tracker level and just gone over to assault the thief if he didn't care about breaking laws.
And yet local media show surveillance video of unknown robbery suspects without pixelation..
Local media has lawyers on retainer. They're also the media. They get to claim that their purpose is to inform, even when their purpose is to profit. The much-maligned blogger (or vlogger, etc.) is broadly considered to not be a journalist. If your goal is to blow up on youtube and make money, then you can't hide behind the excuse of doing the public a service.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Really? There's few jurisdictions where both fuzzy justifiable homicide laws and lax local prosecution would seriously allow someone to use deadly force to shoot someone running away with a package. At best its going to be misdemeanor larceny, at worst you're shooting someone in the back who's actively running away.
IF you're a well-connected person in some rural area you MIGHT get this covered up, but I seriously doubt if there was any publicity you'd be able to get away with it.
And really the problem with package thefts isn't some rural issue, it's mostly an urban issue. More houses, more theft opportunity, and most police departments lack the manpower to even bother with much in the way of patrols in basically low-crime neighborhoods. There's no way you're shooting and killing people anywhere in the US over package theft.
Then you have to kill them with a very high probability of success, which is not so easy, especially if you want to avoid collateral damage.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
As indicated in the previous replies, it is a highly variable situation. Personally I've not heard of any of our neighbors complaining about theft, and I think over 15 years of one/week porch deliveries, we've experience one missing package.
As a Vendor I would start implementing a signature requirement if the systems picked up a level of, or an increase in, reported theft in a given area (certainly to the zip code-level, but I assume there is a way to slice that up as well...)
I wonder if the larger vendors feed this type of information back to the carriers? So carriers could provide recommendations to their entire customer base...
The faces were probably pixelated because YouTube will take-down any video which features someone who did not agree to be in it -- if they lodge a complaint.
Complete BS.
Otherwise every person in just about every news story seen on youtube must have signed a release. Which they clearly didn't.
GP: "if they lodge a complaint"
You: "they must have signed a release"
Point: above head
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
He didn't go to the police at all. Why would you, for a lawsuit? He did go to the emergency room. His story was that he was drunk and accidentally entered the wrong house (by kicking in the door). The cops had no interest after the fact.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Oh, I didn't get the details. The insurance company paid, is all I know. My friend didn't care that much, since insurance was handling it.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Uh, just pay someone $50 and they will willingly cover their car in glitter. Completely fake.
yeah.... no. Glitter gets everywhere and you cant get rid of it. Most people know this. It's why glitter bombs are even a thing because of how universally annoying it is to everyone who isn't a 12 year old girl. No adult would let you glitter bomb their car for $50. I'm not even sure I or most people would let you do it for a full month's payment. Glitter is just terrible.
Just another second banana
The law states that one cannot benefit from one's criminal actions. If the perpetrator were to sue, the perpetrator would be confessing to theft, possibly grand theft, and any attendant crimes and would then have to go before a jury and say "I am a shitball thief who stole a booby-trapped package and I want you to reward me for my criminal behavior so you can be my next victim!" and, in the unlikely event the perp wins, Rober can counter sue for theft and intentional infliction of emotional distress and get all that money back.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
That would certainly cut down on package theft.
Unfortunately with the legal fallout probably no one would do this, but I think the entertainment value and the satisfaction would b worth it...
There are videos where people do this. Long before him this other guy made a video where he used shotgun shells to make bangs when people lift up the package. It wasn't as over engineered as this one but it was very satisfactory. He even sold packages so you could do it yourself if I recall.
Just another second banana
Most jurisdictions have been cutting back funding to Police, like mine, which has a large population but only 1 cop. Crime, like robberies and break ins, have been rising and the city really doesn't care. All they care about is all the development of tilt ups based on speculation going up. Most of them are still vacant or really no sales tax producing storage warehouses.
I'm already seeing people deal justice by themselves because the lack of enforcement by many jurisdictions and it's only a matter of time before we go full on Argentina or Mexico where we just execute the person and bury them, if we haven't already.
I can ;make a good case for it not being illegal, starting with the fact that it is his property which is sitting on his property and he knows what the contents will do. If a criminal wants to trespass and commit theft then that criminal is responsible for what happens next. One may as well say the owner of a car stolen by an unlicensed minor is guilty of allowing the minor to drive said car or saying the original owner of a stolen gun used to shoot someone has broken the law.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
I do remember reading an article a while back about thieves stealing what turned out to be a radiation source for medical equipment. Eventually it was found and had apparently been opened and put back together. They said the thieves would only likely live a few more days as opening the container without protection would've given them a fatal dose.
Honestly I'm a bit surprised he had that many packages stolen, but we aren't given a frame of reference either. At least around here it seems a rarity, I've never had it done to me and haven't even heard of anyone I personally know having it done to him. Yet this guy seems to have had a half dozen taken.
The real issue is that no one is doing anything about package theft. I've seen "surprise packages" done before and better and simpler. But none of this goes to tracking down the people who stole the package? Just about "punishing" package thiefs but that's not the way it works. Any basic psychology course could explain that. If one time you went to a vending machine and instead of a kit kat you got a rotten eggs you'd be grossed out and disgusted but the next weeek you'd be at the vending machine again. Ideally these surprise packages might scare them off your house but even that isn't so sure. I'd rather see something more geared to identifying the people involved and getting the police to DO something. Police waste their time doing so much nonsense I'd much rather them spend less money on tanks and whatever excess military gear they buy and more on tracking down package thieves.
Just another second banana
Or they were pixelated because it was all staged, and they were his buddies who agreed to act in his film.
I actually get most of my Amazon packages delivered to me at work. They get received by people I trust in a warm warehouse and delivered to my desk. I don't have to worry about them being left out in the weather or stolen by neighbors, etc. Plus I have a driveway that the UPS drivers really don't want to bother with in the winter so it's a win for them too. Plus since the driver is already coming to our plant daily it saves a tiny bit of fuel too.
This begs the question as to whether they were really guilty of anything. He created a device that was meant to be 'stolen'. I don't remember specifics but there were people found guilty a few years ago of leaving their garage open and ambushing people who came to steal things. They were found guilty of a pretty serious crime, forget exactly what. Now in that case they were using guns so a bit of an escalation. But I think this isn't quite so cut and dry.
Why the fuck would anyone live in a neighbourhood where you have to lock your door or worry about stuff being stolen in your yard? If you live somewhere that dangerous and read slash dot I'm guessing you can afford to move to a first world nation.
My guess is that it's a question of enforcement bias. The FBI has jurisdiction over bank thefts and they are unlikely to suddenly reject the longstanding practice of using dye packs. That the FBI has jurisdiction means that local police will never pursue charges against a bank that used a dye pack. Plus the dye packs are probably already rubber stamped by the FBI as "safe".
In theory, this should make civilian use of dye packs just as justifiable, but because it involves petty larceny instead of the federal felony of bank robbery it's unlikely this will ever happen.
FUCK THEM. They are the one's that stole the packages. They're lucky that's all that happened to them. I applaud the guy!
why not record the blank and have a small amp and speaker in there. It's just a loud noise then, no explosive, and would be pretty much as effective.
I had a similar problem with thieves stealing from my shed, I made a mains powered electric fence, along with a warning sign. It was quite diy and i insulated the wires from ground and the cable went into my house. Of course it wasn't actually hooked up to the mains supply. It was totally inert but quite realistic.
But who is going to risk coming into contact with something like that? It ended the problem.
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
One of his "victims" had a multi-thousand dollar bike in his room.
What makes you think he paid for that bike?
I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
Jury trials don't work like that. The jury is only allowed to decide contested "matters of fact", and usually neither the defense nor prosecution is allowed to make them aware of *motive* (unless the motive itself is contested). That's why juries render verdicts every day that look completely *outrageous* to anyone who knows the context. Often, the jury members are often the only ones who *officially* DON'T know the context (at least, not until 10 minutes after leaving the courtroom and being completely horrified).
It's also why, when a jury *does* engage in nullification, the members get grilled by the judge to explain how they reached the verdict... and the judge declares a mistrial if anyone lets it slip that they found the defendant innocent because they disagreed with the law itself rather than reaching the verdict solely by considering only the evidence presented and without disregarding the judge's explicit instructions.
but his copy cats will probably be dumb kids. I've already seen folks doing this with small explosives in order to get a loud "crack" and scare the person. If that keeps up sooner or later some dumb ass is gonna put an M-80 or something in a box and kill somebody.
And yes, this is why we can't have nice things. People are stupid on both sides of the isle.
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in a car. e.g. if it happened when a person was driving and caused in accident.
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In what jurisdiction is admitting to breaking and entering mitigated by admitting to public intoxication?
Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
and they usually come when I'm at work. So I'd have to drive down to a pick up point, which would defeat the purpose of ordering online.
Also, most companies eats lost and stolen packages. I'm well aware this is baked into the price of everything I buy online, but that seems a fair trade off for the convenience.
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Yes they shouldn't be stealing other people's packages. Yet it will only take one thief opening the package in the presence of his 5 year daughter to cause her permanent damage and then it becomes a real crime.
It's a multi-factor problem.
Cops quit doing anything like neighborhood patrols years ago, partly as a result of the switch to squad cars and partly as a result of computerized crime fighting which put more cops in areas with statistically higher crime.
But even if they did more neighborhood patrols, it wouldn't do any good because the political changes prevent cops from doing any profiling at all. There's not even an existential risk of getting pulled over if you're stealing packages, even if you're black and driving a beater in an upscale white neighborhood.
You have to literally get caught red-handed and with a package not addressed to you to get caught, and I'm told that they open them immediately and toss the packaging and/or the contents (if its not salable). In years past the cops would have pulled most package thieves over for not fitting into the neighborhoods they were in and a junker filled with random new products would have put the thieves at least on the short list of possible crooks if not arrested.
The up side is that we have more efficient policing and less racial profiling. The downside is that mostly middle class neighborhoods have seen a reduction in crime prevention.
This story fits the general sentiment of your footer too well, so I call bullshit on you until you provide proper source.
In some states it is legal for him to shoot and kill the theif.
Only if he does it in person. Deadly mantraps are illegal in all 50 states. Nominally not deadly mantraps may not be criminal, but anyone injured by one can sue and win civilly. Katko v. Briney.
definitely a danger to eyes as well as the respiratory system, the chemicals in the fart spray could trigger anaphylactic shock.
There's not a jury in America that would convict if it were thumbtacks and mace. Especially if they've had their packages stolen.
Just like if you break into a house and the dog rips your face off - maybe don't be a burglar next time.
People need to stop being so damn afraid of defending themselves. And if what you're really afraid of is your government punishing you for defending yourself while at the same time refusing to defend you ... well, son, you got bigger problems than packages. "You might live under tyranny if..."
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Thanks! I'd have counted myself fortunate to simply meet someone of such outstanding character, beauty, integrity, humor, and intellect as my wife. Instead, however, I got to marry her. Not only that, but she's from a wonderful family. How many people actually get to say that they have great relationships with their in-laws and look forward to when they visit? Not many, from my experience, yet I'm able to do so. I'm an incredibly fortunate man.
I don't drop "my wife and I" into every post, like you're suggesting, but I do drop it into the posts where it adds something or acknowledges her role in something, just as I would with "a coworker and I" or "a friend and I". For instance, the fact that my wife and I both enjoyed videos from this YouTuber would suggest that they have a broad appeal, given that she's a "normal", not a nerd. Alternatively, if I didn't do something by myself, it only makes sense that I acknowledge the role that others played in doing that thing, rather than trying to suggest that I was capable of doing or thought to do it by myself.
He was clever enough to see the weak point in his plans: the thief-turned-victim has your home address. Get too nasty and he might return the favor with a molotov cocktail or even a bullet.
I also thought this was the most clever part - he annoyed the thief enough to discard the GPS package but not enough that they'd want retribution. It's a dangerous game when you start fucking with people who know where you live.
Wall mount package drop boxes are a thing. According to reviews, couriers can be convinced to use them if you put a sticker of their logo on the door. Obviously they only accept packages of limited dimensions, but some of the smallest packages tend to be the most valuable, so it should be quite useful. They're expensive, so there probably won't be a lot of retrofits, but I would expect new development housing to start including such things. There's little reason to believe this delivery-everything trend won't continue, so I would expect them to become bullet points on real estate listings before the end of the next decade.
That specific model has some design issues, and doesn't seem to have much in the way of direct competition. There are lots of stand alone porch drop boxes, but much fewer in-wall permanent installations. I expect that to improve too, though slowly.
Unless and until Amazon succeeds with drone delivery. Then all bets are off, and instead of this sort of thing, everybody will want a roof level delivery pad with integrated automated dumbwaiter.
Intent is required for most crimes. The legal definition usually starts with the word "knowingly". Burglary is something like "entering or remaining on a property, when not authorized, with the intent of committing a crime".
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
So, essentially, you get your stuff stolen and can do nothing about it.
Also, Mr. Rober did not send the package trough the mail, he just put a fake shipping label (even addressed to the two thieves in Home Alone) and placed it on the steps to his door.
What looks more weird to me is that the delivery people would just put your item in the open, no need to sign for it etc. In my country, if the item is delivered to the door, someone from that address have to pick it up and sign for it. If the item is sent trough the post, it would either be delivered to the door (and someone has to sign for it) or I would have to go to the post office to pick it up, show my ID card and sign for it.
> that he has set himself up for a huge lawsuit by whomever took the package.
And that is precisely why America is FUCKED.
Victim: I got tired of MY packages being stolen so I booby trapped them Thief: I'm suing for emotional distress. Victim: WTF!?
The key is having jurors with enough moral courage to do the right thing and to never forget jury nullification. A situation like this can can be declared not guilty even if the judge instructs you that 'you must follow the law even if the law is bad'. The whole point of a jury of your peers is to apply the law fairly and that sometimes means jury nullification. Citation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
We're not talking about designing it, we're talking about deploying it. The conversation is over there ------>
He didn't deploy it. He left it on his own property and someone stole it. That's not "deployment".
If I have an unfinished piece of work in my garage that's dangerous (e,g, unfinished wiring, sharp edges) I cannot be held responsible if someone steals it and hurts themselves.
How is this "negligence"?
If the reasonable man on the Clapham Omnibus would have understood that something could cause danger, and the precautions needed were reasonable, it's negligence.
Intent is not required.
If I mail an envelope with a razorblade in inadequate packaging and the mailman hurts himself, I get sued, even if I didn't intend for him to hurt himself.
If I leave the head off my well, and a neighbor's child trespasses and falls into it, I get charged, even if I didn't intend for anyone to fall into it.
Not that I think this invention constitutes a booby trap, but most states do have laws forbidding the creation and deployment of booby traps, even on your own property. Usually under the guise of promoting public health and safety. Secretly, I always assumed they were about protecting police when they enter a property, but it make sense that you wouldn't want little timmy falling into a punji pit just because he chased his dog into old man crazy pants front yard. If I remember correctly, I do think it is legal in Texas as long as the trap was not created to "Knowingly harm or kill."
Anecdotally, I do know a guy that was having a hard time with people using his front yard to cut a corner in his neighnorhood, so he put down some railroad ties with spikes driven in them. Sure enough some kids ran over it and popped all 4 tires. Cop told him if he didn't remove them right then, he was going to jail. Ended up having to drag them out with his truck while the cop watched. Still ended up getting a citation for some code or another.
> that he has set himself up for a huge lawsuit by whomever took the package.
And that is precisely why America is FUCKED.
Victim: I got tired of MY packages being stolen so I booby trapped them
Thief: I'm suing for emotional distress.
Victim: WTF!?
The fact that this thing had four phones in it, plus other custom electronics, etc. means it was probably worth several thousand dollars, likely making it's theft a felony. Most of these package thieves seem to be normal people being assholes, so I'm guessing if they went to a lawyer, and said "I want to sue," the lawyer would probably explain a few things to them.
Even if he did get sued, given the number of subscribers he has, and how much people hate the package thieves, it'd probably take about 4 hours to crowd-fund more legal defense money than he'd ever need.
https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04...
the thief-turned-victim has your home address.
Not necessarily, especially if they were going around and stealing packages from multiple houses like some of the thieves in the video were doing, He purposely put a fake label with fake names and addresses on it, so the thief might not remember which house he stole that particular package from.
He didn't deploy it. He left it on his own property and someone stole it. That's not "deployment".
He made a whole video about how he planned and executed it, at which point that idea went out the window for ever and ever amen.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I had the very same problem. First my house was robbed, then the package of security cameras and DVR system was stolen off my porch. I felt like I was being targeted.
My box was really simple, and was designed for a future deterrent, not a revenge tactic. I spoke to the police station about my idea before I built this and they told me that as long as I don't hurt anybody then the worst I would have to deal with would be a noise complaint.
.
I balanced a big bowl of double strong food coloring on brick inside the box, I had cut holes holes in the bottom of the box, and rigged an amazon rape whistles pin to break off and activate right under it, with the loud part epoxied to the box. Package went on my porch on my way out to work. It worked as designed, somebody got the dogshit scared out of em, flung blue food coloring all over themselves and my porch, and the whole street got to hear the whistle. They tell me it went for about 10 minutes before it died or was destroyed somewhere in the field behind our homes. The clown still took the package, but left my porch alone for the rest of the year. I'm certain somebody saw the thief, but nobody wants to be the next target so nobody talked.
I've been considering doing it again, my packages are disappearing again, and rape whistles are super cheap.
Vengeance is fun and feels good, but at the end of the day, I just want my packages left alone.
Drop the stink bomb, use food safe dyes, and make it really loud. According to my local PD, storing these things in a box on my porch is perfectly legal. This costs less than 20 bucks, as long as your amazon rape whistle is not stolen off your porch.
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
You literally said they were illegal and they aren't illegal in the same paragraph. (It's not a crime means it isn't illegal in case you were unaware of that.)
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
In the United States, package delivery services (including the United States Postal Service) provide a range of delivery guarantee options, ranging roughly from "drop it on the porch" to "requires signature from the recipient who is over the age of 21". The entity sending the package generally determines the type of delivery guarantee requested.
People who live in neighborhoods generally regarded as "safe" may not think about risks involved in package delivery until they are hit with theft themselves. I think that the rise in package deliveries due to the adoption of shopping by web over the last ten years has cultivated a new type of criminal behavior that seems to be "normalized" for some individuals. I wonder if they don't believe they are stealing from the individuals receiving the package, because they aren't breaking into their house to get it. From observing the folks in the YouTube video, what is painfully obvious is just how casual the folks are at their thefts. Walking up on porches in broad daylight, scooping up the package, and casually walking away or getting in a car and driving away. A few opened the packages in their car, others obviously took them home to see what they had stolen.
I first observed this problem when I began finding packages ripped open/discarded on my road - a relatively out of the way street nearby a more dense suburban area - around Christmas time about 10 years ago. Not a lot the police can do... people need to understand the risk involved in deliveries to their property and request delivery guarantees that match the risk. People living in dense neighborhoods with easily-accessible front porches should probably use package lockers or delivery signatures. Those with more hidden/less accessible delivery spots can probably do without.
easily solved by not stealing the package.
I think the point the poster was making is that the accident could result in death or injury to innocent third parties who were not involved in the theft.
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
An entire second of google showed this: https://definitions.uslegal.co...
There are laws against any automatic booby trap, just about everywhere.....
Personally, I think he should get a medal, but law != justice no matter what you think.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
even if they're the only ones that get killed or injured it's not worth it. For the person getting the package it's a minor inconvenience. They report it lost and get it resent. We all pay a bit more in shrinkage, but I doubt it's very much. If these package thieves get too busy the cops take them out eventually.
Basically, my dinky little $100 order from Amazon isn't worth risking somebody's life for and my $1500, once every 7 years major PC upgrade gets a signature.
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Banks also got bailed out on our dime. They are special and more powerful than "the law" and don't forget it.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
Congrats on finding someone who lets you penetrate their holes, I guess.
Thanks! I'd have counted myself fortunate to simply meet someone...I do drop it into the posts where it adds something or acknowledges her role in something, just as I would with "a coworker and I" or "a friend and I..."
I appreciate your eloquent answer to an obvious troll. But I think a simple "go away, the adults are talking here" could have worked the same. Jealousy is a stinky cologne.
You obviously have never been glitter bombed. It's forever. Glitter is the herpes of the crafting world.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
Yeah everything on the internet is completely true. Nobody would ever make fake drama for clicks.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
It would be nice if the police did something like this. Given that no one is telling the thieves to steal the packages, I don't think it would qualify as entrapment. So want to boost your police department's investigation success rate? Set up a dozen such packages on the doorstep of volunteers, track the thieves to their lair, arrest everyone who is full of glitter (or got stained through whichever method is appropriate). Open and shut cases. Fewer thieves on the streets.
I guess you'd need a bunch of different packages types, maybe some real ones in cooperation with Amazon, etc. And once the local thieves have learned not to steal packages on doorsteps, first you've won, and you can send the packages to the police department of the next town over. Borrow them back for a booster shot whenever the local thieves get stupid again.
Don't worry, it's probably fake like most YouTube channels... Just like people mailing themselves in boxes, sleeping overnight in Walmart, stolen bike ejection seats, magic tricks for cops, pattymayo fake bounty Hunter and so forth. If it's on YouTube, they probably paid someone from Craigslist gigs $50 to star on it.
Website Just Down For Me? Find out
That's... strange. One would think that railroad ties alone would be adequate to deter such behavior. Unless you buried them, it's hardly a booby trap - it's a clearly visible hazard. Like those Severe Tire Damage things.
No worse than the bank cash-marking dyes, which literally explode with coloured and very sticky dye if the security box carrying the money to/from the bank or the ATM is stolen or broken into.
I doubt a judge would look sympathetically on any such case, even to a third-party. The guy stealing the stuff is the trigger - no different to stealing a toy that makes a noise unexpectedly and puts him off his driving.
Anaphylactic shock? That's a shame. Maybe the guy shouldn't go around stealing stuff he shouldn't be allergic to.
I'm not one of the "serves him right, fair game, anything goes" crowd, but on this kind of level? Yeah, not a problem. It would be laughed out of court and the blame firmly put on the person nicking things that aren't his and driving off at speed.
Could have been a box of live bees (perfectly legal to post in my country!). Same thing. If he hadn't stolen something that wasn't his, he'd know what it could or couldn't do and compensated accordingly.
I hear you, and I agree that such a response would have been warranted, but at least for me my go-to response is to lean into it further when there's stuff like this. You saw me trip and fall? Watch as I get up, take an elaborate bow, and pause for your applause. Now we both have a funny story to tell and we can all laugh as the awkwardness evaporates. I have to wear a silly hat at the corporate birthday party? Watch me pick the silliest hat and proudly rock it. Feel free to tell whatever stories you want about my wearing of said silly hat. I'm fine with you sharing them and I want you to know it. To me, there's no more reason to feel shame or embarrassment over situations like these than there is reason to cry over spilt milk. My pride isn't wounded when I trip and fall or wear a silly hat, and for anyone else with their priorities in the right order, I'd expect that the same would be true.
The only difference with this variety of troll is that they're trying to introduce shame into a situation where it doesn't exist. Leaning into it just makes it obvious how dumb that notion is without stooping to their level. Trying to make me feel awkward for bringing up my wife? Let me talk about how awesome she is, because that's just about my favorite thing to do and I'm incredibly proud of her. Anyone who thinks I'd be shamed by the suggestion that I mention my wife too much clearly doesn't know me.
Most trolls are ill-suited to handle forthright responses from people with nothing to hide, particularly when those answers point back towards something lacking in the life of the troll (going back to your point regarding jealousy). They almost invariably fall apart once you put them off-balance just a bit.
Besides which, as a general rule I prefer to elevate the level of conversation, especially when someone says something that's plain dumb. I'm not perfect, so I routinely fail to do so (as recently as yesterday, in fact), but I do try. And if I can't be bothered to try, I generally just ignore them. "Don't feed the trolls" seems to work most of the time, in my experience.
Hmm, usually this sort of thing is covered with warning labels--though I suppose most thieves are too dumb to know what they mean.
Unless you live in California where criminals have more rights than you or I do, any judge you bring this to is going to laugh you right out of court. Then they are going to arrest you.
Yes, your honor, I not only tresspassed upon private property, but I also engaged in criminal behavior by stealing items from said location.
Upon opening the package, I was covered in glitter against my will and the inside of my car smells like shit.
I would like to press charg. . . why are you laughing at me ?
Yes, your honor, I understand had I not engaged in the aforementioned criminal activity we would not be having this conversation.
How DARE someone pick on the poor criminals after the police told them ( even with video evidence ) that it wasnâ(TM)t worth their time.
Also, since Banks use exploding dye packs for the idiots dumb enough to take them, I have serious doubts anyone is going to take your glitter issue seriously.
Personally, I would have used a smoke bomb / pepper gas combo. Both non-lethal ( thus not considered a booby trap ) but far more effective.
TLDR: No one is going to have any sympathy for thugs.
So is tresspassing.
So is theft.
Law abiding folks have nothing to worry about do they ?
Hum wonder what your day job is .... smells like ambulance chaser.
I don't know about your country, in mine, if you commit a crime against me, you can't have a case against me unless I commit a crime against you in retaliation that is not a direct result of the crime you committed. So if you break into my home and I crack your skull with a baseball bat, it might be considered overstepping self defense, but certainly nothing more severe. If I manage to subdue you somehow and THEN continue to torture and maim you, make you my sex slave and upload it all on Pornhub, complete with your private information, it's a crime against you that is no longer a direct consequence of the crime you committed, because I could have not done it without any potential ill consequence against me. I'd have to stop at the point where you are no longer an immediate danger to me.
In this case, the person setting up the trap cannot even stop the thief from opening the package. Yes, he set up a trap, but he in no way enticed the thief to steal the package. He didn't go "hey, buddy, look, you can have it, nobody's looking". He put a box on private property where nobody but the rightful owner has any business touching anything.
I can't talk about your legal system, but if anyone stealing this box can have a case, it's FUBAR and should be replaced with something sensible.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Glitter and / or Fart spray pretty much sit at the other end of the spectrum from Deadly Force :|
Booby Trap equates to intent to harm.
Glitter and Fart Spray don't qualify.
There's a lot of whistling in the dark here. And several straw (wo)man ("that can harm", "might fall victim", "if...pass through the mail").
First off, IANAL.
These devices would be unlikely to be considered man-traps in any way. For it to be a trap, it needs to physically, well, trap a man (or woman). I would think this falls more into the booby-trap category, but even that requires a ridiculous amount of squinting.
Even if we stick with the man-trap theory, some basic research leads me to believe that only man-traps that cause injury or death are illegal from a criminal perspective. This device does not cause injury or death, only embarrassment. Even if the (alleged) thief dropped dead from surprise, there is unlikely to be a DA in the country who would spend five minutes contemplating charges. And good luck seating a jury that wouldn't laugh the case out of the room.
Which leaves civil. While one of the people who removed the device from his property could try suing him in civil court, what exact damages would they be trying to recover? The cost of cleaning up the glitter? Being deprived of the value of what they thought they were stealing? An attorney who tried to bring this case might want to consider the strong possibility of sanctions for pursuing frivolous claims with no basis in law or fact.
Filing such a suit would also probably attract the attention of the local DA who generally won't appreciate the (alleged) thief trying to game the system. And with all the evidence already in hand (multiple video, audio, location tracking), it seems like it would a slam dunk for the DA to secure a criminal conviction. Which would almost certainly sink any civil suit filed.
The (alleged) thief could potentially expose themselves to a civil suit themselves, and depending on jurisdiction, this case could have actual teeth and real risk for the (alleged) thief.
If, as you say, our NASA Engineer here has committed a crime, he has posted that fact publically, with video and audio evidence for the world to see (15M views and counting). However, as much hand waving you want to do about the rights of (alleged) thieves and the possible liability that he might face, here is the simple proof he hasn't committed a crime in the eyes of the law:
The (alleged) thieves don't get to press charges only DA's do. The simple fact is that no DA has charged him with anything and none will. There have been and will be no civil suits filed because there is no basis for one, and any idiot coming forward to file one is exposing themselves to enormous amount of exposure to themselves on both the criminal and civil side.
" Really? There's few jurisdictions where both fuzzy justifiable homicide laws and lax local prosecution would seriously allow someone to use deadly force to shoot someone running away with a package. "
Texas allows it. Commission of a crime while tresspassing on private property puts things into motion. If you believe the items stolen cannot be recovered, you can legally shoot the individual ( even if running from you ) to prevent the theft.
Is what's fucking wrong with this country.
They should be thankful our engineer didn't go all Unabomber on their ass. THAT would have made an AWESOME news story.
Serial package thief atomized inside car, news at eleven.
they should go back to robbing old ladies in the street. Or we could ask ourselves why somebody's bothering to steal packages in the first place. There's plenty of risk, especially given our draconian sentencing laws (three strikes and you're out, you could do 20,30 years for stealing a $10 pair of crap earbuds).
Man, I swear, America is way, way too into making people suffer.
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They call the police all the time to report the theft of their stash, so yeah, some might.
In the video the faces of the perpetrators have been blurred out. Why not show and shame the guilty? Put a written warning on the package that says "by opening this box you consent to video recording" or whatever disclaimer deemed necessary.
The spikes and railroad ties could be construed as what is called a "Man trap" in canada at least. anything that is set up to injure or cause harm to a human. and a big block of wood with railroad spikes id think would fit that.
If I am on a Jury with this case, I would laugh so hard! AND award legal fees to the accused!
Look, I get that all the time "awww! You could've caused an accident with that! What's wrong with you??" and yet to this day the driver has always arrived safely.
Actually he wouldn't be - see this and .
Fit fake packages with every legal known allergy causing substance, and spray that on them; if they die, it wasn't your fault.
I'd prefer spraying them with Anthrax spores, but the Guys at Ft. Detrick won't answer my phone calls anymore, ever since my buddy died/killed himself. :(
The army guys wouldn't give me any VX or Sarin, even tho I said it was for "research purposes" on my neighbors cats. And Dogs. And Neighbors...
Anyone know anyone with Ebola? I'm asking for a friend... :)
Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
There is no "drop it on the porch" option in my country. Unlike what I see on the internet about the USA, individual houses in my country have fences and my fence from the street is 2m tall and completely opaque, so a couple of times the lady who delivers the mail has called and offered to throw the package over my fence as the package did not require a signature. There was somebody home, so she didn't need to do that though.
Normally the delivery is either handed to you (or someone at your address) and you have to sign it, or you have to go to the post office and show your ID.
Recently they made a third option (which is cheaper) - your package gets delivered to a special locker, you go there and have to type in a password that you received in a text message.
Next thing you know, an innocent bystander, possibly a child too young to know better dies of anthrax. Then you do hard time for bio-terrorism.
That or replace the fart spray with skunk scent.
The risk is tiny. Hot coffee can be a risk as well, but many thousand people a day drive with hot coffee.
...in a such shitty neighborhood?
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
It's almost as if you didn't watch the video you're discussing.
No sig today...
That's a good cause, so it means that laser printer toner in various colors would also be ok. And it's harder to get rid of than glitter.
"I can't help that the thief opened the package the wrong way."
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Even if I'm naive, at least I watched the video, which you obviously didn't.
Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
You are aware that "the media" doesn't require registration. Simply publishing something makes you "the media". Yes, a much-maligned blogger (or vlogger, etc.) is "the media".
No, they are not. Now, you and I might believe that a blogger is an equally valid journalist to one working for a major newspaper, but they are not treated the same way. Pretending they are is begging for failure.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
That's a good cause, so it means that laser printer toner in various colors would also be ok. And it's harder to get rid of than glitter.
Toner is both toxic and irritating, it would definitely not be OK. Much of it is carcinogenic, you could be done for trying to give them cancer. The glitter is great because it's something that people already rub all over their bodies without ill effects beyond damage to carpets and relationships.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I think the OP has gotten more replies to anything else I've put up with the overwhelming response being "You're an idiot; Rober was justified and no where will the thief be able to sue him".
Get out your Google machines and look up "Criminals Sue Victims" - they may all not be successful but a lot of criminals do try to sue their victims.
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As someone already posted, a criminal cannot profit from a crime, so any winnings would have been seized immediately.
He was never convicted of a crime.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Sure, when the facts disagree with you, blame the hate facts!
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I see we have a neo-liberal mod out modding everything down as troll here. Don't have to bring race into though as I've seen plenty of webcams where the thieves are white. This one was.
It's not trolling, it's historically accurate. Most civilian recourse against any kind of home invading criminal is treated as vigilantism and is often viewed more harshly than the original crime, by bleeding hearts judges. You can't booby trap your own property. And there are a lot of messed up people out there who think it's no big deal if this guy gets his packages stolen because he's so well off and "privileged", they see some twisted kind of Robin Hood metaphor in it.
I guarantee if someone does something like this again, and there is now a high likelihood there will be copycats, they will eventually be charged with a crime of some sort. I'd put money on it.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
This is also how you get jury members thinking the defendant should get off because they already suffered more than they should for a given crime. I have had to deal with this, and it can be highly biased based on the age and color of the defendant.
Sadly you are correct. At it's core a democracy is only as good as its citizens. That's why I rail, in vain, against mass immigration of uneducated people from other cultures. Want to ensure more violence and crime - just import tons of uneducated people from cultures with lots of violence and crime.
Criminals trespassing on someone's property to steal stuff have sued when they get injured and won the case. So your statement does not hold up to past court cases.
-- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
The person driving the car should not be opening packages while driving. Wouldn't that be the reason for the accident? So it is still the criminal's fault.
-- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
What if the package that was stolen had peanut butter in it and the person was deathly alergic ? Think they are going to be able to sue then ?
Mission Impossible: Fallout the original script:
Apostles steal nuclear fuel and get radiation poisoning. The rest of the move plays out in the courts where they sue the US government.
No, you don't have to bring race into it, and sure, there are a lot of white criminals out there. This video did, however, make me think of a conversation I had recently which went something like:
"The fact that African Americans are so heavily overrepresented in police shootings is proof that the whole system is racist!"
"Well sure, they're overrepresented per capita, but that's because they tend to commit more violent crime per capita as well. What do you want the police to do; ignore black criminals?"
"They don't commit more crime per capita; they're just targeted by police more so that it looks like they do!"
At which point I shook my head and walked away. A large number of SJWs think this way, and I could totally see them trying to explain away the huge percentage of black thieves in this video as "targeting" or something equally silly.
That's not how due process works. Judges exist for a reason.
They're not criminals until a judge says they are. Vigilantism isn't helping anyone.
Actually, in many states it gives exactly that right. Texas is one state. I believe Florida is another.
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Good point.
Put it on someone else's porch.
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Now confirmed fake by the creator...
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Blacks are 300% more likely to go to jail for marijuana possession.
That's basically nonsense. This particular propaganda talking point is brought to you by people who want you to believe that millions of minorities are going to jail just for having a bit of weed on them. In reality most convictions for marijuana possession happen simultaneously with convictions for other crimes. So when home-boy robs a convinience store, then gets put away for robbery plus having some weed on him, these clowns count him as a poor innocent victim arrested for possession.
Where is this craziness happening? It wouldn't happen where I live (New Zealand).