Your bro-in-law takes your Viper for a joy ride, what do you do?

[Batboy]

So here's the situation. I'm on vacation out of town when my mother-in-law calls to tell me my Viper is gone. My brother-in-law lives with me, my wife and two kids. To make a long story short he took it to work with him. Of course, he's not allowed to drive it. In fact no one is allowed to drive it except my wife. So, now what? I did call the police because we didn't know who took it. They are still looking for the car, but he was spotted taking the car back to the house. the car is safe now and the keys are hidden. But what do I do at this point? Press charges? Kick him out of the house? Kick his a$$? He's been a good guy up to this point. If I press charges it is grand theft auto and a felony. He will be going to jail. Should I be that harsh? Opinions requested. BTW it's a pristine 99 GTS with 26K miles and as far as I know no damage to it. It was a sad day regardless. Too bad some people just don't get it. I'll still see everyone at Carlisle.

 

[ViperCrazed]

Kick his A$$ Definantly option 3, wait 15 minutes and repeat step over and over..........

Seriously, that is beyond ridiculous.

 

[Batboy]

Agreed. Option 3 and 2 are almost a given. My concern is option 1. I can really "F" up his life if I want. So, how far do I take this revenge thing?

 

[tooreal11]

His ass would be out of my house...That tells me that he doesnt have much respect for you and your property...It never fails, you give someone a finger they take a arm...As for pressing charges, thats going a bit to far..You dont want to stick someone with a Felony...Trust me! Wash your hands of him or have a serious conversation!!

 

[JUCD VPR]

I'd give him an ass chewing of a life time, Drill instructor style. Then i'd boot his ass out of my house. If he talked back to me i'd punch him in the mouth to shut him up. I definately would not press charges since he is your brother in law. People screw up sometimes, thats life.

 

[BLUESNAKE367]

Well Bro, Being a retired Cop I must say with some things a good ole asp whooping would do, but in this case,the punishment must fit the crime...

The fact he did no damage is no exception,The basic fact is torte and trust, and he broke them both,(big time)If you take it easy on him now you are giving him permission to do it again, and again....for the concideration you give him now, what concideration did he give you before he took your car????, this man has no respect for you, the family or the property of others..

Its plain and simple, put his asp in jail, and let him answere to the Man..

My 02....

 

[twinturbo3150]

Id kick his ass out of the house, stuff your foot so far up his ass, he will be able to tell your shoe size. I wouldnt press charges on one condition, that he does community service at your house, pull weeds, mow grass, paint the house, paint the fence.

 

[kpham]

I would kick him out. There is no point to live in the same house with a person whom you don't trust. BTW, if he would have asked you for a drive, would you hand him the key?

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Don't even worry about the legal issue. State/County would never charge him in this situation. Heck, in most cities of a good size the only way you could ever get an actual police person to visit your house and act like they care your car got stolen would be to tell them the thief was still there and was holding you baby hostage. Law enforcement simply does not care about stolen cars unless that stolen car happens to be speeding.

Last week one of our company's work trucks was stolen. Our guy noticed and called the tech department right away. We have a GPS system on the trucks to keep an eye on the service guys so our techie calls the cops and tells them where the truck is, how fast it is going, and in what direction. Dispatcher says thank you very much we will send you a victim form in the mail. He calls back and bugs them some more and they finally pull someone off of speed trap duty and send them out - TO OUR TECHIE GUY's HOUSE because that is the telephone number he is calling from and the address that showed up on the 911 screen. Unbelieveable. Maybe if he would have said he could tell the truck was speeding they would have cared.

 

[00SVTdubs]

dont give him a felony because that is a little harsh. Id talk with him and ask what the hell he was thinking and if he said something stupid, Id hit him in the face and kick him out of the house. Id definately kick him out reguardless

 

[Vic]

Just tell 'em that its ok, you understand, and....

Just kidding!
I'd read 'em the riot act!

You better express yourself in no uncertain terms, that sh*t don't cut it, and if not for relations, you would have him in jail right now....

 

[vipeuup]

You should of taken both keys with you..

 

[venms96]

"Law enforcement simply does not care about stolen cars unless that stolen car happens to be speeding."

Whatever you do, don't listen to mumbo jumbo like the above statement. You don't have a Theft or a Felony. You have an Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. I don't know if that's what they call it in your State, but it's taking someones car without permission, using it, but not stealing it, as in your case. Misdemeanor charge in most States. That's all you have actually, nothing else.

venms96
1996 GTS-Stock
SDMF

 

[Tiepilot]

You got no crime. You have a P.O.S. brother-in-law is what you have.

Outta the house is where he goes.

 

[SylvanSRT]

donate both his kidneys and corneas along with his heart to a good donor!

 

[SylvanSRT]

Now buy youself a good safe or key locker, store the car locked and keep the keys locked up. btw did you start the organ removal yet?

 

[94RT10Ohio]

You should of taken both keys with you..

Always keep keys at home, if someone is there, like a wife, her duty in event of a fire is to get the car out!

Since he is family in a round about way and he has been OK up to this point I would not involve any law. I would just tell him how pissed I am and as a result of not being able to trust him he has to find a new place to live.

 

[RedEnuf93]

What if he made extra set of keys???

I would have a harsh talk with him and he would be out if I dont get an satisfactory explination.


Charges, too much...

 

[99 R/T 10]

Well Bro, Being a retired Cop I must say with some things a good ole asp whooping would do, but in this case,the punishment must fit the crime...

The fact he did no damage is no exception,The basic fact is torte and trust, and he broke them both,(big time)If you take it easy on him now you are giving him permission to do it again, and again....for the concideration you give him now, what concideration did he give you before he took your car????, this man has no respect for you, the family or the property of others..

Its plain and simple, put his asp in jail, and let him answere to the Man..

My 02....

Great advice if the guy hates his wife and extended family. Fastest way to get rid of them!

Now if you love you're wife and family(I'm guessing you do), you won't take the "X-Cops" advice(assinine as it was), because you would have ill feelings until the day you died(ON BOTH SIDES). If it were me, #1 ass whooping or ass chewing(your choice), and #2 the guy moves out of the house TODAY! Always keep your keys hidden in a safe place

 

[SylvanSRT]

good point about the keys being copied! he would definetly be looking for a new place of residence! Major violation of trust and property!

 

[Warfang]

Call your biggest friends and have them oversee his packing and ****** him off the premises. Make sure they call in a locksmith to change the locks.

Whoop his @$$ at the next family gathering.

 

[big-n-italian]

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING?!!

here is your sign - grow some. AND here is his sign for obvious reasons. sheesh.

AT MINIMUM - kick the POS out of the house and drag everything into the yard.

WHAT ELSE OF YOURS IS HE DISRESPECTING?

 

[Leslie]

Did your wife know he was taking the Viper for a joy ride before he did? I am wondering if there's a 3rd side to this story.

hummm...

If all is what it appears, then I would not have him living with you-PERIOD. He is not to be trusted.

Good luck, tough call, especially if your wife is close with him

 

[ViperTony]

How can you stay calm??? Oh man...for some reason the "Red Ball" scene from Pulp Fiction comes to mind...some variation thereof...kick his a** and drag him down to your basement. Tie him up and red-ball him. Every hour, on the hour, go downstairs and kick his a**. Do this once for every mile he drove your Viper. Then kick his a** out to the curb.

 

[Asp Man]

I would not get the cops involved, this will preclude you from kicking his a$$.
Seriously, though, kick him out, now. It's too late to rough him up, the instant of anger (and temporary insanity) have passed. Get him out of your house and away from your belongings asap. The joker has no respect for you, as has been mentioned previously.
Make him pay you for a full tank of premium, too.

 

[Flash Gordon]

"Law enforcement simply does not care about stolen cars unless that stolen car happens to be speeding."

Whatever you do, don't listen to mumbo jumbo like the above statement. You don't have a Theft or a Felony. You have an Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. I don't know if that's what they call it in your State, but it's taking someones car without permission, using it, but not stealing it, as in your case. Misdemeanor charge in most States. That's all you have actually, nothing else.

venms96
1996 GTS-Stock
SDMF

Venms96 pretty much has it...Here in NJ it's "Operating Without Owner's Consent", I believe. As concensus has stated above, kick his ass and then kick him out. Period.

 

[V 10 MAFIA]

Someone living with your family that doesn't respect your property shouldn't be staying in your home especially when you aren't around. Ask yourself, what else is he capable of if he has the b a l l s to take out the Viper? Understand that what he did wasn't a mistake or a fckup it was something very intentional that he knew you would find out eventually and he did anyway. Basically he's saying "Fck You Bat Boy I'm taking the car out!"
If it was me personally, I would have kicked his ass out of the house like everyone else on here agrees with.

 

[Forged Horsemen]

I would rip his arms off and beat him with them. And in my opinion he has to go. It's the lack of respect for your property that would upset me the most. I went on a vacation with a girl friend I had and left my work truck at her house, so we could take a cab to the airport. Left the keys to the truck in case it had to be moved. And her 17 year old son took the truck to work one day. When I got back I gave him a piece of my mind. My girlfriend thought I made a big deal about the whole thing. Didn't think it was wrong for this punk to do what he did. I told her to go to hell as well. Two months after.I found out her little angel took her car without her permission got drunk and rolled it three times. Thank God he didn't hurt anybody or his stupid self.

 

[TCKTPLZ]

The best way to deal with this is to completely sever his right arm (up to shoulder) and left leg (up to pelvis). This would ensure that he will never be able to drive the snake again (won't be able to operate the shift lever and press/depress clutch). Then it would be advisable to eat both the severed leg and arm raw. This will show that you are completely serious about the issue and that messing around with your Viper is a heinous act that does indeed cost an arm and a leg.

 

[kcobean]

First things first, how old is your bro-in-law? If he's young (i.e. sub-19), the proverbial @$$-whooping is in order, along with a conversation between you, him AND your wife that something like this will never happen again if he is to continue living under your roof.

If he's 20+, I'd say it's time to go. He obviously does not respect you or that which you've worked so hard for, so he doesn't deserve your generosity. It's gonna be a hard sell with your wife ( been there, lost that battle), but hopefully she understands what a gross violation of trust he's taken against not just you, but your family.

In either case, I'd call the nearest "exotic rental" company. Find out what a days rental of a Viper costs, and tell him that unless he wants to move out RIGHT NOW, he owes you the equivalent of one days rental, due in cash. That thousand or so dollars will buy some nice stuff for your car.