Before Vanessa went to work for the day we went to Stardust Alley And looked for Rolling Stones T-shirts in anticipation of our rapidly approaching attendance of their concert. Unfortunately, that was one of very few bands that they did not carry T-shirts for. Rather, I got a Nirvana shirt, which turned out to be a more wearable design anyhow.
Following that, I drove to downtown Los Angeles. I had come up with the rather nerve-wracking plan that I would go back to downtown Los Angeles and ask the jewelry and pawn shops in the area about the necklace that had been among the things stolen from me on August 12th. The necklace of subject was a one-of-a-kind turquoise and pearl necklace made by a Native American artisan in Santa Fe and purchased from a gallery there as a gift to me by my mom, and I had only had possession of it for two months, which made the theft all the more frustrating. It was also very easy to spot and to prove that it was mine, so I was hoping that I might happen upon it in a store window and be able to reclaim it, though I will mention that that hope was so small as to be nearly none. It was made all the more complicated that the theft happened at a parking lot that was just a block away from the popular “Jewelry district” which was densely populated with jewelry stores of all price ranges and so I spent nearly two hours asking store clerks at all of the ones within safe walking distance if they had seen my necklace to no avail. I did also pop in at the only pawn shop in the area, but they hadn’t seen it either.
I called LAPD to inquire about the progress of the investigation into the breaking and entering of my vehicle and theft of my belongings only to be sent to voicemail. They returned my call several hours later and informed me that no detective had been assigned to my case and that it usually took about four weeks for a case to be assigned. I can’t imagine how any case can be solved when so much time is allowed to pass between the point of a crime being committed and the leads being pursued. That’s long enough for security footage to be recorded over, for belongings to be bought and sold, for forensic evidence to expire. This was mostly frustrating because while I understood my case was likely all potatoes to the police department of a large city such as Los Angeles, this was an easy case to solve. The suspect was a highly conspicuous person who likely lived in or around the geographic area, and the items were meticulously cataloged by me so they would be easy to identify, especially the necklace which would be very easy to find if any resources at all were put into finding it. Being that as it may, I came up with a new plan to call all of the pawn shops in a five mile radius of the theft inquiring about purchasing a turquoise necklace and whether they had any in stock. If they did I would ask that they email me a photograph so that I could identify whether it was my necklace before making the journey to downtown Los Angeles to reclaim it. Updates to come on this newest segment to my arduous adventures in downtown Los Angeles.