My girlfriend texted, “Don’t freak out. I lost your laptop. My ex borrowed it for a project and now he can’t find it.” I replied, “No problem. I’ll handle it.” 2 days later, I made a few calls, filed a quick report, and waited. When her ex got a visit from the police and a $10,000 fine he couldn’t explain, she finally texted.
“What did you do? I’m 29, male, work in IT security consulting. Been with Sarah for about 18 months. Things were solid, or so I thought. We’d moved in together 4 months ago, split rent on a decent two-bedroom downtown. She’s a graphic designer, works freelance mostly, uses her own MacBook for everything. I had a customuilt Dell workstation for my actual work, but I also kept a personal laptop, a newer HP Spectre that I used for side projects, some light gaming, personal files, nothing classified, but it had my tax documents, some
cryptocurrency wallet backups, passwords stored locally in an encrypted folder, and about 3 years of personal photos and videos, family stuff, vacation pictures, things I couldn’t replace. The text came on a Tuesday afternoon around 200 p.m. I was in the middle of a client meeting when my phone buzzed. I glanced down, saw Sarah’s name, figured it was something normal.
Sarah, don’t freak out. I lost your laptop. My ex borrowed it for a project, and now he can’t find it. I stared at that message for a solid 10 seconds. Her ex, she’d mentioned him before. Marcus, 31, works in marketing or advertising or something vague like that. They dated for two years, broke up about eight months before Sarah and I got together.
She said it ended mutually, stayed friendly, no drama. I’d never met him, never had a reason to care. She’d mentioned him occasionally, ran into him at a coffee shop, saw his Instagram post, that kind of thing. I never thought much of it because I trusted her. But now he had my laptop or had it. Past tense. Me.
Why did your ex have my laptop? Sarah. He needed to borrow one for a presentation. Mine’s been acting weird and you weren’t home. I’m really sorry, babe. Me? When did you give it to him? Sarah, like 5 days ago. He said he’d return it Sunday, but now he’s saying he can’t find it. I’m so sorry. 5 days. She’d given my personal laptop to her ex-boyfriend 5 days ago and was only telling me now because he’d lost it.
Me? No problem. I’ll handle it. I didn’t text anything else. Finished my meeting on autopilot. Drove home early. Sarah wasn’t there. She had a client meeting across town. Wouldn’t be back until evening. I sat at the kitchen table and just thought it through. The apartment was quiet except for the hum of the refrigerator.
I made coffee, sat there drinking it, staring at my phone. First, why would she give him my laptop without asking? We lived together. She could have called, texted, waited for me to get home. Second, 5 days ago was Thursday. I’d been home that evening. I specifically remembered working on my desktop in the spare room while she watched something in the living room.
She could have asked. Third, Sunday came and went. It was now Tuesday. Two days of him not finding it. And she only told me when I guess she couldn’t avoid it anymore. Something felt wrong. Not just the laptop, the whole situation. Why was she so comfortable giving him my stuff? Why wait so long to tell me? I opened my laptop tracking app.
I’d installed Prey on all my devices years ago. Old habit from working in security. checked the dashboard. Last ping was Saturday afternoon, 3:47 p.m. at an address I didn’t recognize. Residential area about 20 minutes away. I screenshotted everything, saved the coordinates, pulled up Google Maps. Street view showed a decent apartment complex, newer construction, probably expensive.
Not the kind of place someone who needs to borrow laptops usually lives. Then I called my buddy Jake, who’s a cop, not a detective, just patrol, but he knows people and he knows procedure. Jake, I need advice. Someone borrowed my laptop and won’t return it. What are my options? You got proof it’s yours, serial number, receipts.
Yeah, all of it. Plus, it’s got tracking software, last known location, and everything. File a police report. If it’s worth over a grand, that’s felony theft in this state, especially if they’re refusing to return it. You got texts or anything showing you asked for it back. Working on that part. Get it in writing.
Text them. Ask for it back clearly. If they refuse or ignore you, file the report. Bring all your proof. We’ll take it from there. And listen, if you’ve got tracking data showing where it is, bring that, too. Makes our job easier. I thanked him and hung up. Then I texted Marcus. I’d gotten his number from Sarah’s phone months ago, not snooping.
She’d left it unlocked on the counter once, and I saw his contact when she got a message from him. Saved it without thinking much of it at the time. Now, I was glad I had me. Hey, Marcus, this is Sarah’s boyfriend. She mentioned you borrowed my laptop last week. I need it back by tomorrow.
Can you drop it off or should I pick it up? No response. I waited 3 hours, checked my phone every 15 minutes like an idiot. Sarah came home around 6:30, immediately started apologizing, said Marcus was looking everywhere for it. Maybe left it at his office or a friend’s place. She was sure it would turn up. She seemed nervous, talking fast, not quite meeting my eyes.
Why didn’t you ask me before giving it to him? You weren’t home and he really needed it. I didn’t think it was a big deal. It’s my laptop, Sarah. My personal stuff is on there. I know. I’m sorry. I’ll pay for a new one if he can’t find it. I’ll give you the money this week. I promise. It’s not about the money.
She got quiet. We ate dinner in silence. Leftover pasta. She reheated. I kept checking my phone. Marcus never replied. Sarah kept glancing at me, opening her mouth like she wanted to say something, then closing it again. The tension was thick enough to cut. Wednesday morning, still nothing.
I texted him again at 9:00 a.m. right when I got to my office. Me, Marcus, I need a response. Do you have my laptop or not? 2 hours later. Don’t have it, man. I told Sarah already. Think I left it somewhere. I’m looking. me. Where did you last have it? No response. I waited until 5:00 p.m. Nothing.
Thursday morning, I went to the police station during my lunch break. Brought my receipt from when I bought the laptop 2 years ago, the serial number I’d photographed and kept in my files, screenshots of the tracking data showing the last location, and the text exchange with Marcus. Filed a report for theft of property over $1,000. The officer taking the report was professional.
Typed everything up on his computer. Asked detailed questions about when I’d last seen it, when Sarah gave it away, everything. Just so you know, he said, “If it’s worth over $950 and he’s refusing to return it, that’s grand theft. That’s a felony charge here. We’ll send an officer to his address to retrieve it or issue a citation.
Could take a few days to process, but someone will follow up.” Understood. I just want my property back. We’ll do our best. Keep your phone on in case we need more information. I didn’t tell Sarah I’d filed the report. She kept apologizing throughout the week. Kept saying Marcus was working on it. Maybe he’d find it this weekend.
Maybe he left it at a restaurant. Maybe someone took it by accident. Her excuses were getting more elaborate. I just nodded. Said, “Okay.” Acted like I believed her. Update one. Saturday afternoon. I was grocery shopping when my phone rang. Unknown number. I answered in the produce section. Is this? The voice checked my name. Yeah.
Hi, this is Officer Chen with Metro PD. We went to Marcus Holloway’s address regarding your stolen property report. He wasn’t home, but we left a notice on his door. We also ran his record through the system. He’s got an outstanding warrant from 2 years ago. Failure to appear on a previous theft charge never resolved.
We’re coordinating with County to bring him in. Just wanted to keep you updated. I stood there holding a bag of apples. A previous theft charge? Yeah. Retail theft from a department store. He skipped his court date back in 2023. It’s been sitting inactive, but now that we’ve made contact through your case, it’s active again.
He’ll need to turn himself in or we’ll pick him up next time we see him. separate from your case, but thought you’d want to know the kind of person you’re dealing with. We’ll keep trying to recover your laptop. Thanks, officer. I appreciate the update.” I hung up and just stood there. Sarah’s ex had a theft record and an active warrant now, apparently reactivated because the cops went looking for him about my laptop.
I finished shopping on autopilot, drove home, put everything away. Sarah came home an hour later. She looked upset, phone in her hand, face flushed. Marcus called me freaking out. He said, “The police came to his apartment about your laptop. Did you call the cops?” I filed a report. It’s stolen property. Are you serious? He’s looking for it.
You didn’t need to do that. This is insane. He’s had it for over a week. He won’t respond to my texts properly. What did you expect me to do? He’s going to get in serious trouble now because of this. Good. He stole my laptop. She stared at me like I’d grown a second head. He didn’t steal it.
I gave it to him without my permission. And now he won’t return it. That’s theft, Sarah. Legally, that’s exactly what it is. You’re being ridiculous. This is going to ruin his life over a stupid laptop. Then he should return my laptop. Simple solution. She grabbed her keys and left. Slammed the door so hard a picture frame fell off the wall.
Didn’t come back that night. Didn’t answer my texts asking where she was. Update two. Sunday evening. Sarah came back. She looked exhausted, eyes red like she’d been crying, hair messy. Sat down at the kitchen table across from me without saying hello. Marcus got arrested. I didn’t say anything, just waited. He got pulled over this morning for a broken tail light.
They ran his name and arrested him right there on the warrant. He’s in county jail now. He can’t afford bail. It’s set at $5,000 and he doesn’t have it. He’s going to lose his job. They won’t hold his position if he doesn’t show up Monday. Where’s my laptop? She looked at me like I’d slapped her. Are you kidding me? That’s all you care about? Where is it, Sarah? I don’t know.
He really doesn’t know where it is. He’s been looking everywhere. That’s his problem. Why are you being like this? This is so out of proportion. It’s just a laptop. It’s just a thing. His life is falling apart. No, it’s not just a laptop. It’s my property, my files, my privacy, my memories. And you gave it to someone without asking me.
And now he’s pretending he lost it. He’s not pretending. Why would he lie about that? What would be the point, Sarah? He has a previous theft charge. The cops told me when they ran his record. Did you know that? She went pale, looked down at her hands. That was years ago. It was a mistake. You knew? He told me about it back when we were dating.
He made a dumb mistake when he was younger. took something from a store, got caught. It doesn’t mean he’s a thief now. People change. He stole my laptop. He didn’t. Oh my god, you’re insane. You filed a police report and got him arrested and now he’s in jail and you don’t even care about what happens to him. I care about getting my property back.
That’s it. She stood up, chair scraping loudly. I can’t do this. I can’t be with someone who’s this vindictive and cold. then leave. She packed a bag, just threw clothes in randomly, grabbed her toiletries from the bathroom, went to stay with her friend Michelle, didn’t hear from her for 2 days.
The apartment felt empty and quiet. Update three. Tuesday afternoon, I got another call from Officer Chen. Quick update. We got a search warrant for Holloway’s apartment approved this morning. Went in with two other officers. found your laptop in his bedroom closet in a backpack under some clothes and shoes hidden pretty deliberately.
We’re processing it as evidence right now, but you’ll get it back within the week. Also, the DA’s office is reviewing charges. Since the property value exceeds $950, and we have evidence he knowingly kept it and lied about its location, they’re considering felony theft charges. He’ll have a hearing in a few weeks once he posts bail or gets a public defender.
Wait, you found it in his apartment? Yeah. Not lost, hidden. Pretty clear. He knew exactly where it was. We took photos, documented everything. You’ll get a copy of the report. Thank you, officer. Seriously? He hung up. I sat there for a minute, then texted Sarah immediately. Me? Police found the laptop. It was hidden in his closet.
She didn’t respond for hours. I went about my day, worked, came home, made dinner. Finally, around 8:00 p.m. Sarah. What? Me? They searched his place with a warrant. It was in his closet, in a backpack, hidden under clothes. He didn’t lose it. He kept it. Sarah, that doesn’t make sense. Why would he do that? Me? He lied to you.
To both of us. Three dots appeared and disappeared for what felt like forever. Then Sarah, I need to talk to him. Me? He’s in jail. No response after that. I tried calling once, went straight to voicemail. Final update. It’s been 3 weeks now. Marcus took a plea deal. Plead guilty to misdemeanor theft instead of the felony.
Paid a $2,500 fine. got 2 years probation and had to pay restitution for my laptop, $1,200, which I ended up donating to a charity that gives computers to kids. His prior warrant was also resolved as part of the deal, but it added another $3,000 in fees and fines. Then there was his bail bondsman fee, lawyer costs.
A public defender could have been free, but apparently he hired someone private thinking it would help. all in. He was out over $10,000 by the time everything was settled. Sarah found out the details through mutual friends. She finally texted me last Friday night. Sarah, what did you do? Me? I filed a police report for my stolen laptop. That’s it.
Sarah, he lost his job. He’s broke. His life is ruined. Are you happy now? Me? He stole my laptop and lied about it repeatedly. Actions have consequences. Sarah, I can’t believe I ever thought you were a good person. Me: I can’t believe you gave my laptop to your ex without asking and then defended him when he lied to both of us.
I can’t believe you chose him over me. Sarah, he made a mistake. Me? He committed a crime. There’s a difference. She blocked me after that. Moved out completely the following week while I was at work. Took all her stuff. left her key on the counter with no note. Didn’t say goodbye. Her friend Michelle sent me a text saying she’d gotten everything and I shouldn’t contact Sarah anymore. I didn’t plan to.
I got my laptop back last Tuesday. Everything was intact. He’d apparently tried to factory reset it, but didn’t know about the BIOS password I’d set, so nothing was erased. My files were fine, encrypted folders untouched, photos still there. It was like he’d barely used it, just kept it. Haven’t heard from Sarah since she blocked me.
Mutual friends say she and Marcus are talking again, that she’s been visiting him, helping him figure out his probation requirements. I honestly don’t care anymore. I’m looking at studios closer to my office. Fresh start. Edit one. Some people asked why I didn’t just ask him nicely first. I did. I texted him twice asking for it back.
He ignored me the first time and lied the second time, saying he didn’t have it when it was literally in his closet. I gave him multiple chances. Edit two. Yes, I know $10,000 sounds high for a misdemeanor. It wasn’t just the fine. It was his lawyer fees around $3,500. The bail bondsman 10% of $5,000 restitution to me plus the old warrant fines that got activated when they ran his record.
He basically had to pay for two separate legal issues at once. Edit three. For those saying I’m heartless, he had my laptop hidden in his closet and lied repeatedly to both me and Sarah about it. If he’d just returned it the first time I asked, none of this happens. I didn’t ruin his life. He did that himself when he decided to steal and lie.
