Xbox thief thwarted by community & Live idiocy

by Xav de Matos { Mar 26th 2008 at 11:00AM }

This story is proof that karma and technology go together like chocolate syrup and vanilla ice-cream. Jesse McPherson, a 26 year-old engineer from Philadelphia, was shocked to find his Halo 3 edition Xbox 360, big-screen television and Apple G4 Powerbook stolen from his home upon returning from the recent SXSW event. After dealing with local authorities, who seemed more interested in taste-testing donuts than helping, Jesse took the matter into his own hands to solve the crime.

After booting up a new Xbox 360 Jesse was shocked to find threatening messages from Xbox Live user I iRandom I claiming to be one of the perpetrators of the crime and demanded cash for the safe return of the Xbox console (coupled with ignorant NSFW language, of course!). After submitting his story to digg, which included an image of the second suspect in the theft that was taken from a local pawn shop's security monitor, Jesse was shocked to find over 7000 users had launched the event to the top of digg's main page.

After a barrage of threatening messages to the admitted thief's account from random Xbox Live users and dialog with the brave thief's own mother (His mommy got involved? Ultimate bad-ass!), Jesse's Xbox 360 console was returned in working condition (the Powerbook was also returned on a separate occasion). What, you may ask, were the officers of Jesse's local precinct doing in the time he solved the crime? Who knows, but hopefully it was updating their resumes to include sloth as a major skill.

[via The Age]

Tags: community, halo3, karma, stolen, xbox-live

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

xenocidic @ Mar 26th 2008 11:04AM

Hilarious

Fix the digg link Xav

Hooligunn @ Mar 26th 2008 11:08AM

Just sent a lovely abusive message via the new Xbox.com

Gotta love abusing people like that. I hope he gets what's coming to him, though he'd probably run away shouting "MUMMY!" at the first sign of a fight.

Gemini Ace @ Mar 26th 2008 11:08AM

Are they going to put his gamerscore to zero? Hehe.

ZEBRA NINER @ Mar 26th 2008 11:15AM

Yeah, I read about this yesterday. It's a weird story, but it has a happy ending (kind of).

Speaking of thwarting, somebody should thwart that guy's hair. Zing!

Bravo6 @ Mar 26th 2008 11:25AM

feel good story of the year!

Glitch W @ Mar 26th 2008 11:34AM

So, was the TV returned aswell?

SugarDaddy @ Mar 26th 2008 11:36AM

I'd have preferred a different outcome like the theif was charged with crime and is now spending a few years in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

Stealing and returning is still stealing. You don't get off scott free for robbing a bank and then returning the money. Skewer that sunuvabitch!

B1gg Randall @ Mar 26th 2008 11:40AM

The things these kids do are stupid and funny ass hell 2 me...Ur really gonna send the guy a message from ur account....

abyssal @ Mar 27th 2008 11:50AM

dumb mutherfucker dont know how to steal or kill, if i wanted to steal an xbox i would just simply shoot the mutherfucker with a steel coated bullet in his fucking head and run off with it, its just so simple but duuuuhhhh these dumb mutherfucking thieves embarras true thieves

Kizzle @ Mar 26th 2008 11:47AM

What's with that guy's hair? That dude doesn't deserve a 360.

xenocidic @ Mar 26th 2008 11:55AM

@sugar-daddy

sweet office space quote

@abyssal

shouldn't you be working on gamesaving up a new account? LOL @ internet gangsters!

Neuromancer @ Mar 26th 2008 12:02PM

Xav I generally like your posts but I don't appreciate the law enforcement bashing. I'm pretty sure they don't train cadets at the academy for stolen Xbox Live account investigations and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they did the best they could. You know you only got one side of the story here and it may not be the most objective source.

Prophestus @ Mar 26th 2008 12:08PM

@Neuromancer: yeah i felt this was a pretty poorly written article, someone has some angst issues. If an xbox is stolen, wtf is anyone supposed to do? Go door to door? If there are no leads or witnesses, it could get moved halfway around the globe before emo boy knew it was even missing.

Xav de Matos @ Mar 26th 2008 12:09PM

@Neuromancer: That was the off the cuff remark based on Jesse's reported frustration. I'd hope that no one thought I was bashing the PO-PO, but if you or anyone else was offended I apologize.

But just this once, next time I get a freebie!

Xav de Matos @ Mar 26th 2008 12:09PM

@Prophestus: Now you're just being silly.

CharleyTony @ Mar 26th 2008 12:21PM

great story but ,, where is his big screen TV ????

Xav de Matos @ Mar 26th 2008 12:23PM

The TV is still gone-zos.
But 2 of 3 ain't bad!

Doesnt Sound Right @ Mar 26th 2008 12:27PM

How did he get the message from the guy on a NEW xbox?... Did he recover his gamertag on the new box and the guy left HIMSELF a message....

This is confusing. How would the thief know his new gamertag. Or how do you leave yourself a message?... Crazy, but something doesnt seem right.

B1gg Randall @ Mar 26th 2008 12:34PM

^Good Point.

Xav de Matos @ Mar 26th 2008 12:44PM

@Doesn't Sound Right: According to an update on Jesse's site when he got a new Xbox 360 he used the account recovery feature to get his gamertag back. The thief, knowing Jesse's tag since he just stole his console, messaged Jesse in hopes to blackmail him for the console's return. Sounds plausible to me.

JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Mar 26th 2008 12:53PM

This kid is EXTREMELY RETARDED.

I understand that the Police refused to help, but if he actually convinced them to help him, they'd have the I.P. and address within hours.

I'm ashamed of nowadays kids.They don't even know how to steal anymore.What next? Is he going to come back to his house in order to taunt him?

Neuromancer @ Mar 26th 2008 1:12PM

@Xav de Matos
Thanks for the apology, you're OK in my book! (Some of your readers can be cops too ya know)

Dustin still needs to get himself out of the doghouse after his last Ask X3F post, though....

Nathan Keller @ Mar 26th 2008 2:49PM

BAD FREAKIN ASS!!!!

Greg B. @ Mar 26th 2008 3:03PM

1. It wasn't just the account that was stolen; his 360, tv, and laptop were stolen as well.
2. He tried to contact the police with information he had, and they never got back to him.
3. RTFA

Dick @ Mar 26th 2008 3:11PM

once again, Neuromancer comes out on the wrong side of the joke, through a fault all his own.

c4v3man @ Mar 26th 2008 3:17PM

I swear we need to start cutting off hands like they do/did in other countries. This crap is too prevalent, and it demonstrates that the punishment is not enough of a deterrent to prevent this crime. My friend had his xbox and wii stolen 2 months ago, and my parents were robbed about 6 months ago, and they live out in the middle of nowhere. There's a reason people get concealed carry permits... the only defense you can rely on is your own.

Xav de Matos @ Mar 26th 2008 3:15PM

@Greg B: Not sure who that's directed to. Those points are made in this particular synopsis of the original story.

Sunny @ Mar 26th 2008 3:18PM

I was following this story as it was happening over the weekend and there are a lot of details missing, such as probably the most important part which was that the kids home address / phone number were all found and posted in a wiki made about this story. His mother got involved because people kept calling his house at all hours threatening him to give the xbox back.

After that there was a whole lot of he-said she-said, and some people actually went to McPherson's home saying they had the wrong guy. After that, he called the police again and only then did they take notice because he had been approached and more or less threatened by other people about the whole matter. Soon after the Xbox and laptop got returned and now the police supposedly have a lead on the TV.

Greg B. @ Mar 26th 2008 3:19PM

Sorry, Xav. They weren't directed at you. I was talking to two of the commenters.

Xav de Matos @ Mar 26th 2008 3:23PM

@Sunny: Since we are an Xbox focused site I didn't feel the need to delve into the detailed information of the address situation because it was inconsequential to the angle taken for this synopsis. We're reporting specifically on the occurrence's outcome as it pertains to the Xbox 360. Thanks for your comment though, maybe it answered a question someone had.

@Greg B: It's all good!

Dick @ Mar 26th 2008 3:42PM

@Sunny
Waah Waah Waah
I got death threats because I'm a piece of garbage that has to steal just to get what I (think I) want.
Waah Waah Waah
I'm a defective little mutant and now people are angry at me because I do heinous things and expect nothing bad to come back to me.
Waah Waah Waah
No One in my family ever took the time to raise me right, or show me right from wrong, yet my mommy is up in arms and angry at everyone else when there are threats coming in to my deviant sorry pathetic excuse for an existence.

Sunny, go join greenpeace, cuz shilling for little losers like this one are a waste of your bleeding heart.

Or maybe you can take your investigative excellence and join the cops there in Philly. They clearly need someone with your attention to all of the right details.

Dick @ Mar 26th 2008 3:43PM

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be a troll, but these stories about idiots... And then the people who defend them...
It all just really makes my blood and my bile boil.

Neuromancer @ Mar 26th 2008 3:47PM

@GregB
I never said ONLY his account got stolen. My point, which I didn't think I had to spell out explicity, was that this guy was only able to track down his Xbox by using Live. I'm sorry if you think the cops should have done an undercover Xbox Live operation or stakeout or whatever, but honestly I think in Philadelphia they've probably got more important things to do.

@Dick
Love the blog BTW. What's that, you saw a crazy lookin black dude on the street wearing a fedora? Stop the press!

dylan @ Mar 26th 2008 3:47PM

@neuromancer
I followed this story on Digg, and I believe that Jesse called the cops to file a report, then took matters into his own hands, as he found more evidence, like a security tape with the kid holding his laptop at a pawn shop and the kids name and number, he phoned on at least two more occasions where the cops told him they didn't have time to come by and weren't interested in his findings... so I'd say sloth is an accurate way to describe that precinct, especially considering that people involved in home invasion are also usually tied to drugs and violent crimes, or working their way up to that.

Sunny @ Mar 26th 2008 4:02PM

@Dick I wasn't defending him, I was just putting more context to the story. Some people were angry because it put the police in a bad light, and that just shows that they should be put that way. It also says that nasty xbox.com messages are what brought the story to a close, and thats not true. That kid got what he deserved and should burn in hell.

Zeus.:God @ Mar 26th 2008 4:02PM

Abyssmal, you would shoot yourself before you ever got that gun and its "steel coated bullet" aimed anywhere, ya' fool.

Hell, I doubt you've ever held, let alone fired a REAL gun- as a matter of fact, a "steel coated bullet" would serve no purpose other than proving your ignorance and pure stupidity.

Maybe you would like to take a peek at my Savage 30-06 and Talon full metal jacket rounds?

Neuromancer @ Mar 26th 2008 4:32PM

@dylan
You're getting an account of an event from some random guy's blog, all I'm saying is there's two sides to every story and his is the only one getting told here. And yes he went to a pawn shop and got that surveillance photo which was a smart move, but the way he got this guy's personal info was through the Xbox Live account. Half the people I work with don't even know what Xbox Live is, you can't expect robbery detectives to know what to do with that.

Also I would imagine these detectives have a huge workload of cases, many of which may involve violence against persons which would take priority over a stolen XBox. It's unrealistic for people to think that all of a sudden these cops can drop what they're doing at a moment's notice and give this case priority.

dylan @ Mar 26th 2008 7:32PM

@neuromancer
If you feel a need to defend these people, by all means find the info that proves me wrong, the info from some guys blog is what I have to go on and from my experience with the police it sounds quite feasible. I never implied that anyone should "drop what they are doing at a moments notice" but sending out an officer at their convenience sounds like something they could have managed. It may not have been laziness, but it does sound to me like the system is broken and needs some serious overhauling.

refinedsugar @ Mar 26th 2008 7:53PM

Nice quick 'n dirty news blurb done right. Glad it had a happy ending, but I suspect he knew the culprits on some level. What wasn't said is just as important, if not more, than what was.

djrussell @ Mar 26th 2008 9:21PM

I was pretty disguisted with this post to be completely honest. I completely agree with Neuromancer... Xav de Matos: you dont have a clue how law enforcement works, you dont have a clue what the cercumstances were - and instead of reporting the NEWS as you were supposed to, you added your own little 2-cent rant about the police not doing their jobs. You make me sick... while you're sitting at your computer typing away in your own little safe environment your forgetting who actually makes that possible day-in-day-out. Stick to the facts; dont add personal comments, because then what does that mean? Free media goes out the window - and you're no better than the journalists on Today Tonight or any of those other crappy, bias-television broadcasts reporting not the truth or facts, but they're own opinions. Thats not what news is all about.

Xav de Matos @ Mar 26th 2008 9:41PM

@djrussell: I've already apologized if my comments were taken for more than the jokes they were meant to be. I appreciate your comments, even when you say I make you sick, but as I stated earlier I was merely echoing the frustration that Jesse had for the police in question. The fact is he solved this crime in a matter of days with no formal training and, if you read his posting, he felt ignored by the police. I understand that a burglary isn't as important as other crimes, but when the perpetrator escalated the situation to harassment the police should have stepped in but they unfortunately continued to ignore Jesse and his personal well being. Instead of blindly following designated leaders, Jesse took matters into his own hands and I respect him for that considering he received very little support from the law enforcement assigned to protect him.

Thanks for calling me out though! Have a good one.

Johnny ComeLately @ Mar 27th 2008 12:39AM

Iunno who has or has not been robbed in the past... but it's a pain in the ass. To say Burglary "isn't as important" is something I don't quite agree with. Sure, a murderer should be found first. But were also talking about thousands of dollars in electronics here. I know I'd be wayyyy pissed off, and down at the police station harassing to get this taken care of.

Put yourself in that guys shoes. Think about it. Remember, this may not seem to be a big thing to you since you haven't been robbed, but when you ARE robbed, and the police are sitting on their asses, you'd bitch too.