If my car was broken into, and I find the stolen items in a pawn shop, what rights do I have regarding getting it back?

This happened to someone I know. They went looking right away after the robbery, and found their stuff in a nearby pawn shop. They contacted the police, and got much of their stolen jewelry and silverware back.

If you registered those items or had receipts for them, that would probably help.

You should get the police involved.
If your equipment has serial numbers, reference those. It’s the only way to be sure.

If you can prove ownership, then the pawn shop received stolen goods, and you can get them back. As the others have said, contact the police. You can not get them back directly.

My mother got much of her stuff back after a burglary. She had called the police and reported it, complete with a description of the stolen items. She spotted one set of her candle sticks in a pawn shop and called the police. They had her go in and see what else of her’s was in their and then went in and confiscated everything she recognized as being stolen goods.

In her case, the cops had been suspicious of this pawn broker for some time, but couldn’t prove he knew the goods were stolen. They actually confiscated an extra pair of candlesticks and gave them to her in place of a set that wasn’t in the store.

When these items were stolen you should have filed a police report, listing the specifics and describing the items. This should have been reported to your homeowners insurance company as well—if they were stolen from your home or property.

The pawn shop is require by law to take down the details of the property they buy. The pawnee is required to provide ID. The pawn shop is required to keep a record of these details for (I think) 90 days.

You can get them back or sue the pawn shop if they are not returned. You will have to prove they belong to you via receipt with id #‘s. Another thing you cand do with tools and electronics is permanently mark them with the last 4 #‘s of your SSN. The police should be willing to help but if not, send the shop a demand letter then go to small claims court. If insurance has already paid, you will have to pay them back.

You have superior claim of title, that trumps anyone. Trick is proving it.