Possible Stolen RED Epic Dragon #07766 in Burbank, CA

[L. Langer]

Well, I confirmed the guy does exist. I found his relatives and whatnot. No trace of him beyond some ancient stuff, as his Facebook page is definitely gone, as are his other social media accounts. The best thing to do at this point is to contact the Police in Malden and have them touch base with his relatives, who could possibly know where he might be. I found a Facebook page of an Evan Beasley, who looks like he could be his brother and from what else I found about him, he's had his fair share of run ins with the law. The guy may also be going by the name "Eric Pacheco", as I found identical names for both Beasley and that registered at the address on the license and database information indicates that they are one and the same. Unfortunately, Pacheco is a very common Hispanic family name and this is California and Los Angeles we're talking about, so I can't exactly get much more about where he might be right now.

 

[Stefan Scherperel]

Reading about all these stolen cameras lately just really strikes a note with me. The really messed up thing about all this is that these people are steeling from your livelihood, the very means that you use to support your family. Someone robs a store, that's messed up, someone steels a car, even more messed up, but someone steels the tools that you use to support yourself... well that's just an extra messed up situation to me, and should really require a stiffer punishment... if it were up to me. My heart goes out to you man. This is the one reason why to this day, I still don't rent out my gear. I would rather loan my gear to a trusted friend, so that it's being used and returned to me in the same condition that I sent it out with, than make some extra money from my gear when I am not using it. It's sad that it has to be this way.

 

[Matthew Quinn]

Reading about all these stolen cameras lately just really strikes a note with me. The really messed up thing about all this is that these people are steeling from your livelihood, the very means that you use to support your family. Someone robs a store, that's messed up, someone steels a car, even more messed up, but someone steels the tools that you use to support yourself... well that's just an extra messed up situation to me, and should really require a stiffer punishment... if it were up to me. My heart goes out to you man. This is the one reason why to this day, I still don't rent out my gear. I would rather loan my gear to a trusted friend, so that it's being used and returned to me in the same condition that I sent it out with, than make some extra money from my gear when I am not using it. It's sad that it has to be this way.

Competely agree. I have three children, and a wife.. It's crazy enough as it is to fight tooth and nail to provide some sort of happy life for them without some monster coming and stealing it away. If I don't work my kids don't eat. We have to bust our asses and swallow our pride day in and day out to make it in this industry. Fkn assholes man.

 

[Derrick Cohan]

Well, I confirmed the guy does exist. I found his relatives and whatnot. No trace of him beyond some ancient stuff, as his Facebook page is definitely gone, as are his other social media accounts. The best thing to do at this point is to contact the Police in Malden and have them touch base with his relatives, who could possibly know where he might be. I found a Facebook page of an Evan Beasley, who looks like he could be his brother and from what else I found about him, he's had his fair share of run ins with the law. The guy may also be going by the name "Eric Pacheco", as I found identical names for both Beasley and that registered at the address on the license and database information indicates that they are one and the same. Unfortunately, Pacheco is a very common Hispanic family name and this is California and Los Angeles we're talking about, so I can't exactly get much more about where he might be right now.

Would you mind dropping me an email? I have more info on him, including partial credit cards. Maybe this will help us? I'm at contact@derrickcohan.com

 

[Matt Hall]

GPS tracking device should come standard with all cameras. Or at least the option t buy it. This situation totally sucks. My first camera I owned -- not a RED -- was stolen from me. So I feel for ya bro...

 

[L. Langer]

Would you mind dropping me an email? I have more info on him, including partial credit cards. Maybe this will help us? I'm at contact@derrickcohan.com

I'll put together a PM later today, with everything I found, including photos and background on the guy, in a neat little package. Given the Boston theft and the fact that this guy and his brothers are from Boston, I'd say this was a planned job. Why this guy is doing it, I don't know, but I would say that this guy - and maybe his brother too, if he's the one behind the Boston theft - are being used as catspaws by someone who knows what they are doing. Get in touch with the Boston victim and see if there is anything that either one of you might have seen that the other didn't.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

So this guy is a real dude and you have a copy of his DL... I'm assuming you guys with stolen gear have filed police reports and therefore the cops should be looking for him as well. Just sayin...

 

[Evan Ziss]

Hey guys, sorry that I have not been very active on this thread, but I've been spending a lot of time and energy looking into this. I have also been lucky enough to have the support of Derrick Cohen, who also had his camera stolen from the same individual. Here are some updates:

Firstly, I wanna thank everyone for their support. If you have any information it's best to PM either Derrick or myself.

Second, he is now wanted for grand theft. This didn't come until constantly prodding the cops to look into this as a theft (he has stolen from 4 people recently). Cases that involve a rental agreement are considered "Civil" with the police and it takes a lot to get them to consider it as something else. It's crazy, but that's the loophole in the law that these awful people are using as leverage to get away.

Third, we have also filed our missing gear with several agencies, including RED.

Finally, this is my livelyhood and yes, this has been a hurtful blow. Rentals allow me to do what I like to do in this business which is be creative and produce some of my own passion projects. I don't know what I will do when I get a new camera or if by some stroke of luck I get 07766 back, but the fact of the matter is that I'm probably going to have to keep renting it out if I want to survive in this industry and be prosperous. I see that some of you understand where I am coming from and I appreciate all of the kind words. I'm not going to let this guy bring an end to my fun.


Thank you all again.

 

[Luke Rihl]

One thing I don't understand (And this is not to knock anyone who had stuff stolen, i'm actually curious) aren't you guys requiring renters to have their own insurance? Wouldn't it be much more difficult to do this if a requirement for rental was a dated COI listing their name with your name listed as 3rd party insured on some type of floating inland marine policy? At least for first time renters?

 

[L. Langer]

Check yo PMs!

 

[David Carstens]

One thing I don't understand (And this is not to knock anyone who had stuff stolen, i'm actually curious) aren't you guys requiring renters to have their own insurance? Wouldn't it be much more difficult to do this if a requirement for rental was a dated COI listing their name with your name listed as 3rd party insured on some type of floating inland marine policy? At least for first time renters?

The problem is that insurance covers accidents/theft, but not fraud, which is what these non-returns are classified as. Ridiculous.

 

[Remington Chase]

It will cover fraud/conversion if you ask for it. Most brokers won't mention it as it's the most likely thing to happen and they don't like to pay claims.

 

[L. Langer]

We've made some progress. I won't say anything at this time other than this was very likely organized/pre-planned and carried out by what appears to be a group of very young criminals - literally children - tied to the street music and fashion industries who might be trying to set themselves up as professionals or are using the gear for their own purposes. Everyone who is renting gear out or has it out with a rental house needs to have greater control over whom they rent to and not just rent to anyone who shows up. Using the fingerprint recording I suggested earlier will save you a lot of heartache if your gear goes missing, because you'll have evidence of who stole it.

 

[ericyoung]

One thing I don't understand (And this is not to knock anyone who had stuff stolen, i'm actually curious) aren't you guys requiring renters to have their own insurance? Wouldn't it be much more difficult to do this if a requirement for rental was a dated COI listing their name with your name listed as 3rd party insured on some type of floating inland marine policy? At least for first time renters?

Professional pro kit thieves/frauds are well versed in the high end gear, and come prepared with very convincing fake IDs and legit insurance that they've obtained using the fake IDs, so legit insurance doesn't safeguard against the professional scumbags. Sometimes they even complete a lower value rental beforehand, and leave a fairly large deposit, to build trust, and then disappear.

The guys in this case seem too young to be amongst those though, so a COI may have added a level of hassle which could deter the more casual frauds.

 

[Christopher S Johnson]

They ever catch this guy? I remember this was like the first thread I ever saw on RU and still think about it from time to time...

 

[L. Langer]

I don't think they ever caught him, but Derrick did get his stuff back after it was confiscated by Police. A gang-banger turned music video shooter and creative named Damien Sandoval - possibly the same Damien Sandoval who once posted here on RedUser - had Derrick's gear and after digging into him, I discovered that he has long-standing ties to Jake Patti, the aspiring rapper and leader of the Boston/LA crew that Eric/Evan Beasley is a known member of. Eric himself has close ties to Jake and did photography for him before the gear theft. According to Damien's portfolio and online media offerings, he shot multiple videos for Jake Patti over the years and may have done some work for him with the stolen gear, if the production dates line up. From what I can tell, some of/the rest of the stolen gear may be with John Leo Patti, Jake's wannabe actor/film maker brother, who has been using it for his own creative efforts and another wannabe in Boston who works under the name Rex De Palma. Both Patti brothers are the sons of John Patti, a former mob stooge who flipped for the Feds, so they used their dad's reputation to start a gang of their own, with Pop's assistance and connections. Near as I can figure out, they have been involved in their father's drug dealing business while he had been in prison and after he was released, allowing them to amass significant cash funds to pay for whatever they want. I'm not sure why they would steal gear, but for self-centered trash like that, any criminal activity is just another "Fuck you!" to the rest of the world.