I think my comment was on topic but perhaps not expressed clearly enough. If someone did take their stolen laptop back then theft may not have been committed,

I think my comment was on topic but perhaps not expressed clearly enough. If someone did take their stolen laptop back then theft may not have been committed, but in the UK at least, a reasonably creative police officer would be able to find other grounds for an arrest, believe me. Any attempt to evade arrest would itself be a crime of course. I accept that the situation in the USA may well be different.