Comments by "SmallSpoonBrigade" (@SmallSpoonBrigade) on "Theft Charges for Taking 'Abandoned' Snowmobiles from Nat'l Forest" video.

@disguysn I work at a grocery store and we basically can't get anybody to show up for theft unless it's a lot because the prosecutors won't prosecute theft of small amounts. I'll literally see the same guy most days come in and steal a few drinks and walk out and there's nothing that can be done legally about it as the cops won't show up and shopkeepers privilege doesn't apply if the cops aren't coming.
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@phillip6083 Yes, but there are other ones for other conduct, I don't know about this case, but I do know that if somebody is busted with poached animals in their truck, the fish and game wardens can and will seize pretty much everything you've got on you that is even tangentially related to the crime. So the truck, the boat and trailer if it's fishing, the hunting or fishing gear, it's enough stuff that just the loss of all that stuff alone is a pretty stiff punishment. And that doesn't include the relevant fines, prison time and being barred from ever getting a license to hunt again as things that are on the table for punishment if convicted.
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@markbernier8434 Mostly, but keep in mind in those days the jails weren't very secure and breakouts were common. They also didn't have the resources to keep somebody in prison permanently in many areas.
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They actually came? My parents found a bike parked by the telephone pole in front of their house. It was there for weeks and they couldn't get anybody to come over and deal with it. I can't remember what ultimately happened to it, but they didn't take it.
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@kaboom4679 Indeed, I did some work in a wilderness area and you don't get to use any power tools there. Pretty much the limit is battery operated things that don't generate much of a disturbance. It was kind of cool because we got to cut down a tree with a crosscut saw as chainsaws were prohibited. (I was working for a contractor to do work for the forest service, and we didn't get an exemption from the ban) But, it also meant that we were schlepping a large amount of gear that would normally be moved in via some sort of motorized vehicle as pack animals weren't an option.
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@Strideo1 It's not overbearing, wilderness areas are set aside to exist for the rest of eternity as if humans didn't exist. Or as close to that as possible. It is a tough situation where the motorized equipment is for removing a plane that has a body in it, but without the bureaucracy, you have issues about where you draw the line. I worked for a contractor that was doing work for them and we didn't get any motorized equipment, so I'm not sure what about this necessitated a helicopter if they were just interested in removing the bodies for a proper burial. If they ultimately got the permission to use a helicopter to remove the wreckage, then I'd say that the system is working as intended. They got the variance they needed and the area was protected.
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That $20 bit is kind of absurd, but I guess that would technically be theft. Although, I don't know anybody that would follow the steps to ensure that the owner was given the opportunity to claim it. Personally, if I don't see who dropped it and can't figure it out, I just hand the money to the first homeless person I find.
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Honestly, you'd probably have been better off just dropping it at the nearest shop. I wouldn't personally open a wallet that I found, just because then I'd have to explain if there's any money missing why my fingerprinters were on the contents.
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