My own father stole from me!

[cfan10]

Truck was parked at my godfather's house, not bothering anyone. It needed head gaskets and new heads.
My father takes it upon himself, to go and steal my truck and tow it back to New Orleans from Waveland MS,

He never had the keys to the truck or anything I own, I never gave him consent to do anything that's why he didn't have the keys after numerous times asking me for the keys, I flat-out told him that would never happen.

So he decides it's a solid idea to steal from me, despite me trying to help him in the past all while he's battling terminal cancer.

He broke into the truck using the vent window, broke the ignition switch so it can be started and run without a key.
My cluster is gone, heater control the driver side door is not working anymore and this door was like new condition. The door won't lock or unlock the exterior handle button is broken, it has pry marks and a huge dent, not to mention my truck is scraped down to the metal from the door to the taillight on the driver side. Upside is the passenger side is just a giant dent on the door.
My vent window lock is useless now. Some worthless pos actually stole the fuses out of the bulkhead.

Of course I called the police in MS, and filed a stolen vehicle report, I tracked it to New Orleans.
I called NOPD they listed it as a recovery, and let him go, I was asked after showing my title, registration papers and insurance policies with vin and drivers license to the idiot female officer "how do I know it was my truck" She actually asked that while checking the vin! (Maybe because every extra cent I have has gone into that truck!)
I walked away and let my mom handle the situation.
But she actually told the chopshop/mechanic shop owner that he could press charges on me for my stolen truck being on his premises! Unbelievable!

Where do I go from here? The detective I've spoken to in Ms, doesn't seem to want to lock his ass up because he's my dad! Same thing with NOPD he's giving everyone his woe is me crap...he's putting a motor in,but the truth is obvious he was stripping parts from my truck. Truck starts right up but taps/knocking like crazy.

I have extra clusters I can replace, dual exhaust on the suburban I can swap but I shouldn't have to do this while he gets away with trashing my truck. My rear-end cover is missing bolts, but gears are still there thought that was gone.

Stolen:

Ratchet strap
Gauge Cluster
Heater control
Driver mirror
Passenger side shock
Driver side dual exhaust
Tailgate ban
Gold plated battery terminals

Broken:

Driver interior door handle
Driver exterior door handle
Ignition switch no key needed to start
Lock on vent window
Huge dent on driver door
Huge dent on passenger door
Pry marks on driver exterior door
Dent on fender
Glove box

[skyphix]

I think that the standard answer here is going to be:

Talk to

Talk to a Lawyer
Follow their guidance
(Probably) Formally press charges if you haven't already

In that order. Given the value of everything taken, even just an hour long consultation with a lawyer would be worth the couple hundred.

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you, and I am doubly sorry you were betrayed by your own father.

[cfan10]

Next step is to contact DA office, if nothing is done. Off topic, anyone ever put a '96-'04 4.3 in a '81-'87 c10

[Gotenntitans]

My question would be is his thinking OK or is his terminal illness or meds affecting his thinking? Maybe he can't help it. Our neighbor, one of my dad's high school buddies, started acting irrationally and started imagining he was seeing people running around in his yard at night...........turned out he had a brain tumor and it ended up killing him after only a few weeks after finding out about it.

[Dead Parrot]

Get the truck back home before pursuing anything. You don't want it being 'held for evidence' in a 3rd party yard for months while accumulating daily storage fees.

2nd the contact a lawyer.

If the relationship between your father and you isn't fixable, consider getting a protective order stating he can't come with X distance of you and he isn't authorized to touch any of your stuff.

Consider a civil action to recover the costs of transport and repair. Probable he doesn't have many assets but if you get the judgement, it is there in case he or the estate comes up with a sum of money sometime in the future.

It may be best to just accept what happened, deal with the damage and take steps to prevent a repeat.

[sweetk30]

also DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO THE TRUCK until its all settled and take lots and lots of pics from as many angles as you can in good daylight try for no clouds or shadows .

as said talk with a lawyer and see what can be done . and dont forget he crossed state lines in this deal of his .

but in the end i hate to say this how will the rest of the family treat you and do you even care about the rest . might not be worth it on this end of the deal .

[Mathew21]

I'm sorry to hear what happened to you. I have been screwed by family in the past. It sucks.

[HTX86chevy]

So, did you get your truck back? That would be my 1st move. Get the truck home and secured.

[jkk]

Go to N.O. and kick his ass

[Schroedum]

I can actually answer this one. Wherever the car was stolen from is where you need to start prosecution from. Call your local PD and get an officer out there. You're going to need them to do a report (if you haven't already) and see if they can help you go to night court right then and there to prosecute. if not you need to contact your local DAs office and prosecute through them.

You absolutely need to recover the vehicle from New Orleans as quickly as possible to stop the impound fees. But, let me recommended you get the report first. If you take that with you to the impound and let them know you were the victim of the crime they MAY waive the fee. I've seen it happen before, it's worth a shot, ask ask ask again.

Lastly I recommend you take a ****load of pictures of the truck BEFORE you remove it from the impound lot. There is a direct chain of custody, and with photos you can prove it was like that, proving it was that way. Sounds stupid but a good lawyer will try to blame it on you.

[SunSoaked]

That's not very Godly behavior for a "Godfather".

I'm with jkk, "Go to N.O. and kick his ass".



But wait till Maardi Gras starts...

[xrcr]

Get the Truck back and walk away. This sucks all the way around. There's a lot of good ideas being floated but in the end what will you gain except a lighter wallet. JMO

[Ski-me]

Truck parked at "godfather's" house. Is this one and the same as "father's" house? Why I ask....why was it parked there in the first place? If it's on his property, can he claim any type of ownership?

Has he ever asked you to remove it in the past or comment that it was in his way?

Question may be asked in the future.

I am indeed sorry for this. I've had family issues too on properties. Let's just say it costs a LOT of money when lawyers get involved. If you can resolve somehow and walk away, it might be best. You also need to see how the rest of the family is taking this. Do they support you or are they questioning you?

[rideair]

Depending on the value of the truck (before/after this issue) should help you decide your plan of attack. If the truck was worth $$$$$, then yes, go get ASAP and bring it to "your" location. Storing a vehicle at someone's place is never a good idea (even if they are your God father) If the truck on a good day was only worth $$, the money spent going through the process could be more than the truck is worth in the end. You did mention, you had insurance (full coverage, agreed value?), if full coverage, turn it into the company get your check, file a police report and move on.

Look at this as a cheap lesson learned in life, just think if it had been a $$$$$$$ truck without full coverage, agreed value, etc...

I'm working on my brothers Dodge truck right now, $1,000.00+ in parts and I'll never see a penny of it, just the cost of family sometimes.

Good luck,

[cfan10]

Yes, I have my truck towed back home from New Orleans. Thanks for all the helpful replies, it is greatly appreciated.
I have no relationship with my father's side of the family, siblings. I can replace/repair but I want him to learn a lesson in a cell.