I'm very glad you were able to identify the person and I'm also glad your standing up and doing something about this. Investigators need time off to let go some of the stress. I know from personal experience (I've made this my career) that the case load can be intense at best.
I'm from a rather small city (70,000 to 100,000 people- it changes at times during the day as we have a lot of people who commute to our city) and at any given time I could have anywhere from 40 to 55 cases open for investigation at the same time. Some of these cases just cannot be solved for any number of reasons. But the good news is that in your case there is a known suspect and this kind of case would move to the front of my case load to seek a quick prosecution (and therefor get this case off my desk).
Trust me when I say that sometimes there is just not enough time in the day to work on each case. The "Brass" will continue to lay cases on your desk to solve no matter how many you already have ongoing so you move to get as much done as possible.
Very hard to do when you have:
* to appear in court which could last all day waiting for your cases to come up
* return all the victim phone calls wanting to know what you have done on their case
* get called into the boss's office for any number of reasons
* mandatory training in different areas in which your boss thinks necessary to satisfy (him, the public, or city officials)
* other investigators who need assistance in apprehending suspects- yes we do get a little "hands on" where I work, preparing court documents for prosecution, or just general brain storming on how to solve a case that is hanging them up- we are a team.
* vehicle pre-maintenance- which leaves you with out a vehicle for half a day/ sometimes longer
* interviews which can last an hour or more (helps in one case but slow progress on the rest)
* internal affairs which is just an extra case which they want you to do quickly/ delicately/ and now-dropping everything
* the list could go on and on
and this does not include family issues which spring up at any given time that need to be addressed. My point is when do you as an investigator take time out for good mental relaxation - to just let go and unwind, regroup, and reset into a healthy state of mind?
Unfortunately Crime never takes a break and though we as cops would like to think we are Supermen...we are not and we must take breaks. I know your thinking that "Why can't another investigator take over my case to get this done and get my property back?" It does not normally work that way. If I could help out an investigator in this case I would ...but what about my cases that have victims who want things done on their cases and the host of other things that eat up my time?
I just hope you are prepared for court...if your upset now ...you are really going to be mad when this douche bag only gets probation and has to pay court costs and restitution for your t.v./damage to your home.
If you read only one thing in this post PLEASE ASK THE INVESTIGATOR ABOUT FILLING OUT A RESTITUTION FORM...it lets the court know the actual money loss you had and shows the investigator you are serious about this. I do wish you well.