| Author |
Message |
R. TERRY (207.230.142.240)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2003 - 9:34 pm: | |
On July 22nd, I sent the following letter to the Phoenix Chief of Police.
__________
July 22, 2003
Harold Hurtt
Phoenix Chief of Police
620 W. Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Dear Police Chief Hurtt,
In April of this year, the retired Valley Metro transit bus I bought at a City of Phoenix surplus auction was stolen from a privately operated storage lot on Grand Avenue. I need the Phoenix Police to help me investigate this crime, make an arrest, and, hopefully, get my bus back.
So far, the Phoenix Police has shown very little interest in this matter—that’s why I am writing to you. I need YOUR help.
The bus was stolen from a lot operated by Randy Ford, formerly operated by Randy Fulkerson. Initially, Ford claimed to know nothing about my bus. Then he changed his story, claiming Fulkerson had it in Missouri. Later, he told me it was sold by Fulkerson to Tom Bradley in Oregon, where the bus is now located. Apparently, none of these stories was true.
While searching Ebay, I found a guy in Mesa named Randall Rubin selling a Valley Metro bus that came from the same storage lot. Rubin claimed to know Ford. I asked him if he was, in fact, Randy Ford. He said no, Ford was in Missouri (as was Fulkerson). During his telling of the apparently bogus Oregon story, I asked Rubin if he knew how to contact Ford. He said he did not.
Over the phone, the first detective assigned to my case asked Ford his full name. Reluctantly, under threat of police action, Ford told him it was Randall Ford Rubin! The detective went on to determine that Rubin had been operating an interstate used car sales business without a license and advised him to discontinue the practice unless he wanted the FBI to take an interest.
But since then, the first detective left the stolen vehicles unit. Shortly thereafter, the second detective assigned to my case retired after 20 years of service. The third detective did not reply to the detailed voicemail message I left while in the lobby of the main police station. (I wanted to speak to someone in person.)
I don’t have the official authority or crime-fighting resources to continue the investigation on my own -- only the police can do this.
The first detective did give me a clue as to why the police are reluctant to pursue my case. They perceive the value of the stolen item (a used city bus) to be worth about $1000, not enough to justify spending any police resources to recover. But this isn’t correct. A good RTS transit bus parted out has a market value (or, black market value) in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Granted, the police are not in the business of recovering stolen goods; but they are in the business of enforcing the law and apprehending criminals who violate the law and steal things like buses. Is this not correct?
I have been in contact with at least half a dozen witnesses, two of them mechanics with Valley Metro, who heard Ford (the name he was using for the bus lot operation) claim that one particular bus on the lot was his, that it had been repossessed and was not for sale (one witness offered to buy it). From their distinctive descriptions, I know they were referring to my bus.
Based on the information presently available, it is inconceivable that Randall Ford Rubin has no direct connection with the bus’s disappearance. I have never claimed that he stole it because I have no hard evidence to prove that for certain. However, he has tried to appear as two different people, has accused two guys on opposite sides of the United States of having possession of the very same bus for which he first claimed to know nothing about, and has done everything he can to provide erroneous and misleading information.
All of the information in this case needs to be thoroughly examined by a competent detective; all the witnesses need to be thoroughly interviewed; and all the leads need to be thoroughly followed through to the next lead, and so on. Someone knows where that bus went and where it is now (if it’s in a hundred separate parts, someone knows that). Somewhere there is a trail that leads to that bus and the person who stole it. I think it’s a very short trail.
Can you encourage a member of your police department to take an interest in my case? If you can’t help me, where do I go from here?
Thank you for your consideration.
Very truly yours,
Randy Terry
__________
On August 8th, I received a short letter from Lieutenant Charles Miller, Office of Administration.
___________
Dear Mr. Terry:
This letter is in response to your correspondence...in which you request an update on the investigation involving your stolen bus.
Your letter has been forwarded to Lieutenant Lisa Messina who oversees our Auto Theft Detail. Lieutenant Messina will ensure you are provided with an update on the status of this investigation. If you have any additional questions...
_________
A phone number and his signature were at the bottom.
At this time, other than this letter, I have not been contacted by anyone from the police department.
R. TERRY |
Peter Broadribb (Madbrit) (65.73.177.137)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2003 - 9:49 pm: | |
Randy,
I would call her once or twice, give her a couple of days to reply and if still no contact, then take the whole chabang to the Channel 7/12/? news as an item for their consumer spot.
Peter. |
Hemispherical (212.239.21.50)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 1:56 am: | |
Big F'ing deal. I've have had two crown buses stolen BY the police. Move on. You should have stored it at a rv storage lot and disabled it. |
Peter Broadribb (Madbrit) (65.73.177.137)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 3:03 am: | |
That's a nice comment and so brave a person to NOT put a real name or an email link. I am glad that most of the people who frequent this Board are of a better class than this............
If you aren't interested, then don't read the subject.
Peter. |
David & Lorna Schinske (Davidschinske) (64.24.236.164)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 10:00 am: | |
If you ever get this particular bus back I think you should name it "Nightmare" or something similar. I also think it's time to go public with the news. Make a great human interst story as well (eBay, Busnuts helping to locate a bus even if it was the wrong bus, etc). The cops aren't going to do anything, but maybe someone knows what happened to your bus.
Lorna |
Geoff (Geoff) (66.238.120.55)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 11:50 am: | |
Police at work:
My mother had one of her checking account numbers stolen and the thiefs had new checks made with a different address and cashed several of them with amounts totalling in the thousands. When she learned of this she went to the bank and closed the account, and the bank required her to go to the police and file a report in order for her to get her stolen money reimbursed. She took all the checks to the police, who made a report, and gave her the forged checks back. Several of the checks not only had the driver's license of the person who cashed them, but also had their fingerprints in ink on the back (some banks do this if you don't have an account with them). The police did nothing more than make a report (fill in the blanks) and did not even try to find the person who cashed the checks. The bank gave my mother her stolen money back and that was the end of it. |
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