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Thread: Man arrested for stealing caches

  1. #1
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    Default Man arrested for stealing caches

    From the Rome Sentinel (New York) This area has had a string of problems with their caches lately:

    by sean i. mills Staff writer

    An electronics engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory was arrested Tuesday afternoon for stealing a trinket from a GPS-based game of hide and seek.

    Paul L. Repak, 58, of Lewis Road, Boonville, stole a small magnetic case from its hiding place on the Griffiss Park at about 4:15 p.m., according to Detective Commander Timothy J. Bates. The case was hidden as part of a game called "geocaching", where people hide small trinkets in their neighborhood and then other players use the Global Positioning System to follow the coordinates and find the trinkets.

    The point of the game is then to either put the trinket back or replace it with something new for other players to find.

    "When the geo-thief takes a cache container and does whatever it is he does with it, all the swag, log book, geo-coins and travel bugs are lost forever," said local geocacher Carole Darling, of Kent Street. "The game is ruined for other players."

    Darling said she hid the magnetic case two days ago on public property near the new sculptures on Griffiss, and was driving by the site Tuesday when she saw that someone had found it. Darling parked nearby to speak with the person, but when she approached him, he took off running into a nearby wooded area, police said.

    "If you’re a geocacher, you don’t run," Darling said. Suspicious of the man, Darling said she called police because geocachers in the area have had a problem for years with people stealing the trinkets.

    "Someone had been going around taking the items, the trinkets," Det. Bates stated.

    When police responded to the scene, Bates said Repak’s car was still there. The officers staked out the vehicle until Repak emerged from the woods, and he was arrested after he was found with the magnetic case.

    Bates said Repak is charged with petty larceny and fifth-degree possession of stolen property. He was released after posting $100 cash bail, and is scheduled to appear in City Court.

    Repak is an electrical engineer in the Cyber Operations Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, authorities said. Calls to the Air Force Public Affairs Office were not returned this morning.
    Last edited by brdad; 02-18-2010 at 08:16 AM.
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  2. #2
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    This is ridiculous! Why can't they just let people play the way they want to play!


    Truthfully, this is ridiculous! 58 years old? Get a frickin' life! You might expect this from some teenager who doesn't have enough imagination or direction to find something constructive to do. But 58? Sheesh!
    Last edited by brdad; 02-18-2010 at 08:18 AM.
    DNFTT! DNFTT! DNFTT!

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  3. #3
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    I wonder how many other caches he has raided.....I bet a search warrant would reveal a house full of ammo boxes, tupperware, coins, tbs etc...This guy seems really interested in finding these caches, maybe he should start playing, and stop stealing...I think its awesome he got arrested for it though, sends out a strong message to the muggles.

  4. #4
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    I feel for the poor guy . . . I mean all he is trying to do is complete his Finding Nemo McToy collection.
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something more important than fear."

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  5. #5
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    Guess he was able to crack the code......

    Repak is an electrical engineer in the Cyber Operations Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, authorities said.
    Everyone has the right to be an idiot at times. Just don't abuse the privilege.

  6. #6
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    Wow. I am impressed the cops actually did something to protect the geocaching. I never would have thought it.
    "Keep on reaching for the stars. You may find that someday you can pull yourself out of the gutter."

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Team V3 View Post
    Wow. I am impressed the cops actually did something to protect the geocaching. I never would have thought it.
    Ya a lot of people that I talk to about geocaching think that its a silly kids game...I try to explain, but to no avail. My wife included. Anyways, I would have thought that the police with SOO many other things to worry about, would not think twice about catching a scavenger hunting game thief. It is theft though, plain and simple and I am glad that they are enforcing it.

  8. #8
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    and I realize that there is a bit more to it than a "scavenger hunt"....dont get all crazy on me : )

  9. #9
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    I was stationed in Rome, NY from 1991 to 1992 when Griffiss AFB was the biggest employer in town. The base closed in 1994. The effect on the area was devestating. I traveled back through Rome when I attended a wedding in Ithaca a few years ago. On a lark my wife and I drove onto the old base. At that time you could drive into the weapons storage area, where 10 years before hundreds of (alleged ) nuclear weapons were housed and we also drove onto the old "Alert" area where the nuclear uploaded B-52's where fueled up and ready to go. All these areas used to have sensors that could detect people even walking next to the fenceline. While I was stationed at Griffiss the Air Force spent close to 100 million dollars upgrading the sensors and the runway. That project was completed in 1993 giving Griffiss the most up to date protection system in the Air Force, just in time to close.

    Rome was roughly about the size of Bangor when the air base was in it's prime and is now about the size of Waterville. I was stationed in North Dakota and Turkey before and really liked the Rome area. Upstate N.Y. is really nice, and the people were great.

    As a cop, I think it's awesome that they waited by the car for what is essentially a $10 theft. I'm hoping that the N.Y. court system will actually do something, because I'm here to assure you that Maine's would drop that case in a well, New York minute.
    Geocaching Parrotheads

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  10. #10
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    As a cop, I think it's awesome that they waited by the car for what is essentially a $10 theft. I'm hoping that the N.Y. court system will actually do something, because I'm here to assure you that Maine's would drop that case in a well, New York minute.
    Not if ole Danny Boy was the prosecuting attorney......He would put em behind bars.
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