Suitcase Full of Loot

[Mr Skeptic]

Anyway,as I said, you would definitely be liable for arrest if you didn't hand it in and the coppers wouldn't then drop the charges.

 

And how likely do you think you are to be able to walk up to a police station carrying a battered suitcase with drugs and money falling out of it, without being noticed and questioned? Especially if this was rather far from a police station, odds are pretty good that they might not believe you were turning it in.

 

How is the car driver going to track me?

Is he really going to wait 6 months then stake out every police station in the area while waiting for someone who he has never seen to come out with a bag of money (not the original case, I'm not that dumb)?

I am prepared to take that risk.

 

In case you didn't know, there are the occasional bad people in police stations. By its very nature, the policeman job is extremely attractive to criminals.

 

"And what if the police suspect there was something else in the suitcase that I took?"

Like what? If I'm handing in the money what would I have kept?

They would need some sort of evidence to get a warrant; there isn't any so they couldn't get one.

 

Well they can get you for drug possession, so if for any reason, say they are frustrated the other guy got away, they might arrest you in his place.

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I think people can get away with crimes if they are smart about it.

 

And I can tell you for a fact a that lot of dumb people think they're really clever.

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Also, if you are in the US, you'd be wise to never talk to police.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Mr Skeptic
broken tag

[iNow]

What would you do?

People carry suitcases. Conspicuous or not, the likelihood that someone would stop you doing the same is incredibly small.

 

If I happened upon this open suitcase I would close it, complete with all its contents, and take it home with me. The whole lot of it. I would try to find a quieter path to get home so as to avoid interaction with people (police or otherwise), but AFAIC it's all mine now and I'd have no problem taking it all.

 

Then, I'd pay off some bills, buy a few nice things for the people I love, test the gun at a range to ensure functionality and add it to my safe when done, and later return to work like I would any other day.

[Genecks]

Yes, but you might always come across some thugs who want to attack you and take the suitcase, even though you don't get caught...

 

A scene from the movie "Falling Down":

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[iNow]

Yes, but you might always come across some thugs who want to attack you and take the suitcase

Okay. I might also wind up walking dangerously close to a ravine where the weight of the suitcase would be enough to throw me off balance and make me fall in. Or, I might get caught in a rainstorm where flooding occurs and the suitcase weighs me down enough to drown me. Or, maybe I have an allergy to the material out of which the suitcase is made and I wind up in the hospital due to asphyxiation...

 

 

There are a lot of "mights" that I find to be at a low enough order of probability to not even entertain in this situation. But, hey... That's just me. YMMV.

[John Cuthber]

"And how likely do you think you are to be able to walk up to a police station carrying a battered suitcase with drugs and money falling out of it, without being noticed and questioned? Especially if this was rather far from a police station, odds are pretty good that they might not believe you were turning it in."

Almost certain. as has been pointed out before, people carry suitcases. I have even heard of crooks stealing someone's suitcases along with their stereo etc because carrying luggage does not attract attention. Also, since from time to time I carry explosives batteries and timers onto commercial aircraft (perfectly legitimately I should point out), I'm quite good at answering questions about what I'm carrying and why.

 

If I saw a police car or officer I would flag it down and ask for a lift to the station. On the way I would tell them about the chase I had seen. They can check on that for themselves so they would know I was telling the truth.

 

"In case you didn't know, there are the occasional bad people in police stations. By its very nature, the policeman job is extremely attractive to criminals."

 

In case you didn't know I already addressed that - I said "If you have police you can't trust then the whole system goes to pot and there's no reason to hand things in to them."

 

"Well they can get you for drug possession,"

No they can't. There are exceptions to the general rule that if you have drugs it's possession. One of the obvious ones is that the police are allowed to confiscate drugs without themselves getting done.

Handing in drugs to a police station is another exception.

 

If all else fails of course, I can open up this site and show them this thread.

Edited March 8, 2010 by John Cuthber

[Iggy]

To be honest the gun is the real kicker here, the money I could probably see keeping, the pot might be kept or thrown away depending on the individual but the gun presents some real problems. Keeping the gun is unthinkable, a gun could be traced back to crimes unknown and implicate you if you had the gun in your possession. Just leaving the gun is equally untenable, a small child could pick it up and kill themselves or some one else. Destroying the gun could absolve you of any connection to it but the gun could be key piece of evidence in one or more crimes that could very well prevent more crimes if the police got the gun. Turning in the suitcase and it's contents is the only course of action acceptable to my own sense of morality.

 

I think you’re right. The gun must be traceable to gang related crimes and maybe even a murder. Here’s how I see the situation playing out:

 

I close the case and take it. The following day I look in the paper and find out that two gang members were shot and killed in a drug deal gone bad. Police arrived on the scene and chased a fleeing vehicle. They arrested the two occupants following a short pursuit and are holding them on suspicion of murder.

 

I realize that since the gang members dumped the case with all the incriminating evidence there will be nothing to tie them to the murders. They are going to get away with it. This is good news. I formulate a plan that requires all three items in the case.

 

Step one--I use the money. I pay a bail bondsman a couple grand for the names of the individuals under arrest. I also buy a wireless portable security camera with portable monitor and a 2 way radio set.

 

Step two--I use the drugs (not like that). I find a homeless druggy who will do anything for a big bag of marijuana--give him a message and send him into county lockup where he delivers the message to the gang members. The message is along the lines of “I have your case. You have one week to buy it back from me for $100,000. Otherwise, I take it to the police and they will be able to tie you to the murders. When you get out of jail you can contact me at sucks_to_be_blackmailed@yahoo.com” A couple days later the gang members are charged with fleeing a police officer and a couple days after that they make bail and they’re out on the street.

 

Step three--I arrange for a straight swap in some shady back alley. When the gang members arrive they find a camera with a note saying “show me the money” and the two-way radio. They end up not having the money (big surprise), but they do have lots of fellow gang members waving guns around looking for someone to shoot. With the radio I tell them that the deal is off and the case is going to the police. I purposefully make myself sound like a nerdy weakling (no big stretch). They ask for another chance--another meeting with just the two of them and they will bring the cash. I say “OK, but it’s 150 grand now.” They agree, but of course they are still planning on killing me as soon as they see the case.

 

At the second meeting I verify that they brought the money and that they’re alone. I show up (in a stolen car), shoot the overconfident gang members with their own gun, and take the money. I put the money and the gun in the suitcase and congratulate myself on my most productive and most interesting week ever.

 

Smash cut to me fleeing from the cops throwing the suitcase off an overpass landing in front of a passerby who now has an ethical dilemma

[iNow]

...and congratulate myself on my most productive and most interesting week ever.

Nicely done, sir.