robbery in maine

a few months ago i my home was robbed. we recovered everything except my grandmothers engagement ring. the guys who did this will be in court soon. after they are convicted i want to sue them for the ring and all the time missed at work for this incident. i would like to sue them for anything possible. one of them knows where the ring is but won't tell. what recourse do i have? what would be the best plan of action? i know i won't see any money so that is not the most important thing to me. i want to get the point across that they robbed the wrong person and life would be easier if i got the ring back. any suggestions?

Sounds to me like you are using a shotgun to swat a mosquito.

These lowlifes are already looking at jail or prison (if convicted), the cost of defending themselves, etc.
Now, you expect to take them to court for the value of the only item not returned (the ring), with absolutely no chance (or expectation) of recovering anything.

Sorry, but your attempts to 'coerce' them into turning over the ring in response to your lawsuit will probably be an exercise in futility... and an additional cost and burden for you. What makes you think that a civil judgment, even one for thousands of dollars, will mean anything to them. They will probably let you have your default judgment, especially considering that they are already proven criminals. These are not 'normal' citizens. They do not care about credit reports, bank garnishments, etc. or any other process that you would need to enforce your default judgment. And maybe, in a few years, they might be back out and working, and you might be able to garnish wages, but that still won't get your ring back.

I would suggest, if not done already, that you talk with the DA and let them know the importance of the ring to you. See if one of the crooks will plea for a few years off on return of the ring.

Other than that, you will just keep 'opening the wound' if you don't let it heal.

Sorry to hear that you were unable to recover the engagement ring. If I were you I wouldn't waste my time in small claims court it will take to much time out your life. My best advice for you is the following: If you have listed the engagement ring on the police report and you know the approximate value (or old appraisals)of the ring, you may want to mention that to the DA and see if she or he can add more time these guys will spend in jail as a result of the total amount of theft. Also, since it appears the ring is the only thing not recovered, I would wager that one of these guys gave it to his girlfriend. Have the DA find out who the female friends or girlfriends are and then have the police execute a search warrant.