Legal concerning stolen bike

Hi all, I know this is a cannabis forum but there seems to be a good deal of people willing to help with legal matters, and I think I have even seen a few attorneys on here too.

Anyways, here is my story I will try to keep it brief. About a year ago exactly I had a Trek 4900 mountain bike stolen from off my front porch in the middle of the night. I got a call 2 days ago from the police department at my local college. Apparently someone was stopped for a routine traffic stop and the bike's frame turned up to be mine (stolen). I went down to claim the bike and the bike is nothing similar to my original bike at all. The bike I had was in excellent shape (only 4 months old) had front and rear mechanical disc brakes, great shocks in the front, great gear sets and shimano shifters. The first thing that I noticed about this bike that was apparently "mine" was that the only things that were the same were the frame and maybe the pedals; I kid you not EVERYTHING was different. So anyways, I called the police dept today to find details pertaining to small claims court such as his name, and what to do next. The police told me that the guy doesn't have much money so it might be a lost cause, and also that he is denying that he stole the bike and said that he got it from a friend of guy that he no longer has contact with. So based on all this information the police were really trying to turn me off to the idea of taking it to small claims court.

I am very angry since this bike is NOTHING like it was when I had it stolen. In fact its next to worthless to me now. What do you guys think would be a good next step? - if any. Thanks for reading.

had that happen to me, and i just said fuck it... i hate going into court housses anyway, they make me paranoid.. by the time my bike was found i had already bought a new one.. let em sell it at the next police auction..

thanks for posting. I think I have decided to go the way of the pacifist ganja smoker because I don't really want to do shit about it. I am like you which means I hate going to court for ANY reason even if its for myself. The total value of the bike wasn't over $700 anyways so it wouldn't be worth it in the long run. Maybe if it were a $3000 bike or something.