On 2007-05-09 08:15:59 -0700, NVArt said:

Had the dastardly happen a couple nights ago. Garmin 196, two David
Clarks, eyeglasses. In my hangar, too.
Looks like a pro job. No vandalism apparent. Plane was unlocked with
key in ignition. And left that way by perp(s).
The question: Would any of you have an A&P do a thorough check of the
bird or would do as I think I might and just do a more than usual
preflight?

I was just released from a jury yesterday where we tried a burglar. He
had stolen some clothing, belt buckles, and knives, total value less
than $250.

Despite the fact that an eyewitness who knew him personally (it's a
small town) clearly identified him coming out of the house, he was seen
giving belt buckles to his buddies at the soup kitchen, and he still
had one of the knives and one of the belt buckles on his person when
apprehended by the police -- it took two solid days of deliberation to
convince the whole jury that this guy was guilty. In fact, the original
vote was 10-2 to acquit. The last holdout never was convinced that the
case was proved, but finally voted with the rest.

I checked out his record after I got home. The guy has a long criminal
record of several burglaries, break-ins, petty thefts, etc. The thing
that threw the jury off was the guy had dyed his hair during the
burglary, but by the time he went back to trial his hair was its normal
color. But the neighbor who had seen him come out of the house had
known this guy for more than three years, regularly spoke with him, saw
him frequently around town, and was able to identify him no matter what
his hair color was. Even so, when the witness said he had white tips on
his hair at the time of the burglary, the fact that his hair was now
all black (4 months later) was enough to confuse a majority of the
jury. It just did not seem to occur to these bozos that people can
change their hair color. His booking photo, by the way, did show white
tips on his hair.

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor