Getting Robbed is Expensive

On February 1st, my husband, Junior, was car jacked. The local police say it was a car "grab" and not a "jack" because the thieves used deception and not force. He was driving for Lyft when a client asked him to help her put a heavy box in the trunk. He agreed - because he's an awesome guy - but when he lifted the box, he knew it was empty. That was enough time for the client and her accomplice to take advantage of his kindness and drive away with the car. He chased them for as long as he could, but they got away with the car, his two phones, our house keys, the keys to our second car, and whatever else was inside.

After hours on the phone with various police offices, I learned that we would only find out if they recovered "the property" via USPS, with a letter we would need, along with the owner's photo ID and proof of ownership (registration or title), to present to our local precinct to find where the car was impounded and get their permission to retrieve it.

Monday, we learned that the car has been found and impounded.

Yesterday, we learned that the thieves earned $700 in traffic violations in the first 3 hours after they stole the car. I also learned from the police that they used the car to commit petty theft.

As of today, the impound fees are $915. They don't care that the car was stolen, they can't tell me the condition of the car, but they told me the keys are not in it. Since the key he had was the only key to the car, when we do recover it, we have to get it re-keyed, Hopefully, that's the only expense to repair it.

Finally, and the thing that makes me the most angry, is that they used his phone to steal $760 from his cash app account. This was not an account for him. He leads a local community of African ex pats who give money every week to save until someone needs it for an emergency. The police say the theft is tracible and probably a wore-fraud felony, but they, so far, have no results to share.

I know it's a big ask, and we are all tired and world weary, But if you can help us, even a little bit, it would mean a lot.

Thanks <3