rainbowkite
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
California
I'm really at a loss for how to pursue recovering from a felony grand theft and hoping someone can help guide me. I'm in the middle of a very large and complicated legal situation with my landlord but this question only pertains to the theft that occurred at the end of my first month living in the home. The landlord came over to join in a garage sale with me. She was still keeping much of her belongings in my garage since before I moved in and had been planning on moving back in at that point (to become an owner-occupied roommate situation) but never did. Anyway, it wasn't unusual for her to let herself inside the home and hang out, prepare food, have guests, etc.
During the garage sale she ended up inviting a guest into my home without my notice, as I was outside in front of the garage at the time. Her guest, who is her close friend, ended up stealing about $2,300 of merchandise for my online shop and leaving the container for it in my bedroom. When I noticed it missing my landlord knew instantly who to blame and accused her friend outright, saying she knew her friend did it. It turns out this friend had a history of stealing, even from my landlord.
The friend rushed off before police could arrive and I was panicked thinking I may not be able to prove it was her since it was purely my landlord's suspicion, but then a few days later the thief returned a small amount of the stolen items (it seems she is a little slow mentally; my landlord had said prior to the theft that she's taken this person under her wing). So I have the proof that this person committed a grand theft of my property, but she won't give any more of it back and the case is currently sitting with the DA. The last I heard of the status, an arrest is pending. My question is how do I recover the loss? The thief is very poor. I don't have insurance (and the lease doesn't say I need to have it). I've never been stolen from like this before and I have no idea what steps to take. Is the landlord liable for this theft, considering she knew of her guest's habit of stealing and left her unsupervised in my home? Would I need to contact the landlord's insurance about this? Thank you so much for any assistance!
California
I'm really at a loss for how to pursue recovering from a felony grand theft and hoping someone can help guide me. I'm in the middle of a very large and complicated legal situation with my landlord but this question only pertains to the theft that occurred at the end of my first month living in the home. The landlord came over to join in a garage sale with me. She was still keeping much of her belongings in my garage since before I moved in and had been planning on moving back in at that point (to become an owner-occupied roommate situation) but never did. Anyway, it wasn't unusual for her to let herself inside the home and hang out, prepare food, have guests, etc.
During the garage sale she ended up inviting a guest into my home without my notice, as I was outside in front of the garage at the time. Her guest, who is her close friend, ended up stealing about $2,300 of merchandise for my online shop and leaving the container for it in my bedroom. When I noticed it missing my landlord knew instantly who to blame and accused her friend outright, saying she knew her friend did it. It turns out this friend had a history of stealing, even from my landlord.
The friend rushed off before police could arrive and I was panicked thinking I may not be able to prove it was her since it was purely my landlord's suspicion, but then a few days later the thief returned a small amount of the stolen items (it seems she is a little slow mentally; my landlord had said prior to the theft that she's taken this person under her wing). So I have the proof that this person committed a grand theft of my property, but she won't give any more of it back and the case is currently sitting with the DA. The last I heard of the status, an arrest is pending. My question is how do I recover the loss? The thief is very poor. I don't have insurance (and the lease doesn't say I need to have it). I've never been stolen from like this before and I have no idea what steps to take. Is the landlord liable for this theft, considering she knew of her guest's habit of stealing and left her unsupervised in my home? Would I need to contact the landlord's insurance about this? Thank you so much for any assistance!
