Thief

[Steeveedee]

So, some guy shows up at my door this morning to ask me to move my truck, since he wants to work on the curb. The city is doing work on the curbs at the corners to upgrade them for the ADA, and they are also going to fix the curb in front of my house where it is heaved up from where a tree they planted had roots growing. Of course, I moved my truck. I put it in the driveway to replace the transmission cooler lines that were weeping fluid. Well, he never came by to fix the curb. So I printed out his picture. (I have security cameras all over because of my crazy neighbor) and took it to one of my neighbors across the street (many hours after this happened), to warn him that there might be people out casing houses. He tells me that he saw the guy on his side of the street, walking with a hoodie up, and pulling that back when he got to our part of the street. The guy walked over to my truck and walked all around it. My neighbor walked over and asked him if he needed some help. The guy sad no, and went up to my front door, where he asked me to move my truck so that he could work on the curb. Since no curb work was done, I went to my neighbor, and got his story. I think that the real story is that the guy was figuring out if my truck was ready to drive and planned on stealing it. It is now in the driveway disabled in three ways that I'm not even going to tell anyone here, plus it has cars parked behind it. Not to mention security cameras. By the time this turkey and his henchmen got the car blocking the driveway moved and hooked up a tow truck (because, I assure you, that is going to be the only way it will be leaving) I'd have a gig of recording of them. Since I have footage, I'll take it by the popo tomorrow morning to see if they recognize the guy. Nice to know that the neighbors are all looking out for each other, me for them, and them for me!

[mr48chev]

My neighbors house has been robbed who knows how many times over the years but there is an 8 ft fence gate with a chain on it and a German Shepard on the inside now but every time a car sits on the side road beside my place I go take photos of it with the phone. It's amazing how fast a car can get the hell out of Dodge when they know you have a photo of their rig and their plate and possibly them. It used to be a popular transfer point for drugs a few years ago as the local distributor would meet his mules out there where he could see for most of a mile in all directions. He is still sitting in jail after a shoot out in the grocery store parking lot and you don't see the meet ups anymore. I've got 400 feet of rough driveway and so many rigs that my own mom can't tell if I am home or not.
Still the best security is neighbors that pay attention to what is going on and who is around.

[Red71gmc]

My area has problems with druggies steeling items and I had been having problems for about a week with this. I caught one such person stealing my forklift and had a 357 lever action pointed right at his head from 8 feet. I detained him until the police came. In the process he made a run for it and I gave him a warning shot one foot in front of him. I had enough as I can't stand a thief and they had moved on to vandalism and destruction of my property.
I was told by a neighbor that I would no longer have problems as all the jail mates would know I was serious. I haven't had a problem in four years. I have no use for a thief stealing or destroying what members of society have worked hard for.

[Coley]

Geez....I don't feel so bad about my neighborhood right now.

Generally I don't lock any of my vehicles at night...and I usually don't lock all the house doors, including at night.
I think there is always one door that is probably unlocked.

Our situation is unique tho' in terms of our house being on a large set back lot in the middle of 4 other houses....arguably standing guard, lol....and we have pretty good, well balanced neighbors.

Luckily security (generally...not specifically) is not a big problem in the neighborhood, nor is violent activity, crime etc.

However, if you left your car on the street unlocked someone would eventually rifle through it I think....but I suppose that is what the auto insurance can help out with if it occurs.

All good
Coley

[davischevy]

We recently put up cameras at work. WE don't have them at the house yet. We have never had any trouble in the neighborhood. I live in the back of a loop with one way in and out.

We had a guy work on a crew at a job we have down along the Arkansas River. He actually worked for two days until he figured out where everything was and came back early on Monday morning and cleaned out the job trailer. He used our trailer to haul off about $18,000 worth of tools and equipment. The job superintendent went with the cops to his house and some of the smaller stuff was still in the back of his truck. Nothing was done because there was no proof he did the crime. By the time they decided to arrest him, he had moved to South Dakota. I'm sure some poor soul is missing tools up there now.

I hope somebody catches him and shoots him in the ass.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by Red71gmc

My area has problems with druggies steeling items and I had been having problems for about a week with this. I caught one such person stealing my forklift and had a 357 lever action pointed right at his head from 8 feet. I detained him until the police came. In the process he made a run for it and I gave him a warning shot one foot in front of him. I had enough as I can't stand a thief and they had moved on to vandalism and destruction of my property.
I was told by a neighbor that I would no longer have problems as all the jail mates would know I was serious. I haven't had a problem in four years. I have no use for a thief stealing or destroying what members of society have worked hard for.

This topic came up once before and my reply (nothing like this one) earned me a rebuke from two members. I wonder if they will do the same on this thread.

Congrats on both your courage and success. The sad fact is, what you did is sometimes necessary. Police cannot get there in time and the bad guy has to fear you to stay away from you. Instilling that fear can cost the victim everything he owns though.

The co-owner of the body shop where I got my car's fender fixed last week basically did the same thing you did. He surprised two home invaders in his living room and as they ran for their car, he flattened both right-side tires with his AR 15 then shot behind the feet of one of the guys as he ran for the woods. No charges were filed against him but's it's a Castle Doctrine/SYG state.

The car belonged to one of their GF's (it took at least one round to a door) so she is out of luck and the robbers were police informants, so they weren't even arrested. I have heard of that one before, police informants getting a free pass when they rob a joint. Worse still, when he surprised them they dropped his flat screen TV, breaking it.

[Coley]

Originally Posted by davischevy

...I hope somebody catches him and shoots him in the ass.

...lol, that would be his youtube moment come-uppance...I'd watch that, lol.

Coley

[samkost]

Unfortunate circumstances nowadays and doesn't seem to be getting better.
Brave in the daylight hours they look for anything not nailed down and easily accessible for a late night score.
The Holidays upon us again with porch package delivery thieves running amok.
Your good neighbors are a great deterrent and asset.
I'm lucky to have great neighbors also.
Neighbors working together are still the best defense.
I hope your measures and great neighbors deter the vermin.

[Steeveedee]

OK, I guess I don't have to worry about the truck getting stolen. I reviewed footage from another camera, and he's just looking in the windows, kind of like a "smash and grab" deal. He hunkered down behind my youngest son's car when the neighbor across the street came out of her house, then went alongside my truck and looked in the camper shell and the cab. Then, my neighbor on the opposite corner came out, and he ducked down by my next door neighbor's trash cans. Well, the corner neighbor across the street came over to drop a bag in my next door neighbor's bin! Caught!. So, he turned around and went up the walk way, pulling back the hoodie he had on. Got great video of that, and a nice clear view of him. As soon as I figure out this ferschlugginer recorder, I'll take that video to the local cop shop.

One of my sons watched the video of him sneaking alongside the vehicles and ducking down, and called it a "Level 1 Sneak", like it was dungeons and dragons.

It's like a kitten hiding, not realizing its butt is showing on the other side of what it is hiding behind.

[WorkinLonghorn]

Simi Valley was the 7th safest city (100,000+) in the U.S.A and the 5th happiest a few years ago, Just goes to show that crime can happen anywhere.
Amazing neighbors there, maybe why it is so safe. Not the case here on the other side of the Santa Susana "Mountains". Good Luck. -BA

[Red71gmc]

They are everywhere. What I discussed earlier about my forklift was in a rural setting, however it is a more populated rural setting then most.
There has been a recent string of thefts in a 7-8 mile radius. A couple of guys were caught and maybe they are the culprits on all the thefts but necessarily so. People know of one accused as he is a local and he has a normal law abiding family. He also has a normal decent paying job and so on.
I imagine it will come out he has a drug problem to fund but that is not always the case either. Sometimes it can be your neighbor or someone you would not suspect. I feel theft is the forerunner to worse crimes and think it should be stopped in its tracks before it gets worse.
My forklift issue was the second time I had a theft on my farmstead property. First being my pickup picked right off the property in midday. Meth heads were walking onto properties stealing pickups, driving them 5-10 miles as they stole anything valuable from the cab, parked them and walk to another and repeat.
I told the investigating cop it would never happen again as I had planted guns in every building in case I caught anyone in the future. He looked right at me and said "be careful" don't pull a gun unless your sure you can use it as these people are out of their minds and are not thinking rational. He went on to say he is continually sent to arrest these people and is always fearful of what they are capable of only to see a prosecutor smack the back of their hand and be released out in short time to repeat and become worse. He was fed up.
Years later when the forklift was being stolen his comments were still fresh in my mind. I had a state cop, county cop and fish pigs all at that seen and all praised what I did as the perp was a multiple offender they all knew and dealt with previous. In fact he just got out of jail the previous day. Not a one questioned how I handled the situation nor scolded me about anything. They were glad to see me put fear in this guys mind as maybe he finally learned someone will just shoot his a$$ for being a punk.
Again, this guy was getting his hand slapped and was going to get a short term soft punishment. I got a call from the parole department sort of off the record asking me to right a letter to the prosecutor demanding the agreed plea bargain thrown out. I did and went to the court and was put on the stand. I was blunt and honest and asked the judge to add up all the total max years for all the charges if he would punish the max. He stopped counting when it got over 25 years. I asked why then is his plea bargain for 3 months since leaincy obviously wasn't working out well with this guy. Plea bargain rejected!
He still only got a year and a half but maybe it was long enough to finally get off the drugs. I would like to think he finally got it and possibly a better human today. I have no problem with giving a guy a second chance. When you get to three plus chances it is time to get serious.
Some warned me he would be out and seeking revenge. It's been a few years since he would have been released and I have not had any problems of any kind. He apologized to me in court and I do think he actually meant it. His court appointed attorney couldn't even look me in the eye (punk only a legal thief).
Turns out his attorney IS a neighbor of mine. I wrote in my letter that if he ever was getting robbed and only his young daughter and wife was home, to have them call me and I would do the same for them. The twit!

[jjzepplin]

Now, I like that story! Keep up the good work. These must be guys that were not held accountable for their actions as children. Now they are cluttering up jails like roaches.

[Red71gmc]

Anyone that has had something stolen from their property knows the sick feeling you get afterwards. You take it very personal. Both of these thefts were during daylight business hours.
You start thinking about how it happened about the time your young daughters were getting off the school bus. Or they must have known our schedule because my wife is always in that building just a few yards away except for Wednesdays. Fact is they don't know your schedule and don't care about any of what I described.
It's an extremely personal attack on everything you consider cherished. It's not just about the property they steal, but the "what ifs" that go through your head afterwards for months. Whenever someone tells me they were just ripped off, I tell them I understand their frustration and it will eventually get better. They know exactly what I mean.

[cypressbog]

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

These must be guys that were not held accountable for their actions as children. Now they are cluttering up jails like roaches.

^^^THIS! My older step daughter is a piece of work (she was 19 when I met her mom). Constantly borderline homeless unless sponging off her g-ma that refuses to tell her she's not allowed to stay with her. Refuses to work and is taking drugs. She got sent to jail for a year for her 3rd time retail theft. She gets out on a monitor bracelet a couple days later and what does she do? Yep, arrested again for retail theft. Yep, bracelet and all. They dismissed charges and gave her a big fine. I asked the prosecutor to hold her accountable and I get thrown under the bus by the prosecutor when he let the court know I asked for the hammer. Made things at home real nice for a month. I think the wife is still pissed for trying to get her daughter hard time.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by Red71gmc

Anyone that has had something stolen from their property knows the sick feeling you get afterwards. You take it very personal. Both of these thefts were during daylight business hours.
You start thinking about how it happened about the time your young daughters were getting off the school bus. Or they must have known our schedule because my wife is always in that building just a few yards away except for Wednesdays. Fact is they don't know your schedule and don't care about any of what I described.
It's an extremely personal attack on everything you consider cherished. It's not just about the property they steal, but the "what ifs" that go through your head afterwards for months. Whenever someone tells me they were just ripped off, I tell them I understand their frustration and it will eventually get better. They know exactly what I mean.

Right- I was considering stating home Tuesday because after 11 AM my son would be at work, and no one would be hmoe until I got there at 11:30. I went anyway, because I know that the twerp saw all the cameras. I did have the tires and wheels stolen off my car once, back in '77. I had a spare, but had to get a ride home from my co-worker because I don't carry TWO spares- only the rears got stolen, since they were chrome reverse, with new tires. I worked at a parts store at the time, and my co-worker told me that I should have parked out front on a Sunday, after the theft. Nice timing, turkey.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by cypressbog

^^^THIS! My older step daughter is a piece of work (she was 19 when I met her mom). Constantly borderline homeless unless sponging off her g-ma that refuses to tell her she's not allowed to stay with her. Refuses to work and is taking drugs. She got sent to jail for a year for her 3rd time retail theft. She gets out on a monitor bracelet a couple days later and what does she do? Yep, arrested again for retail theft. Yep, bracelet and all. They dismissed charges and gave her a big fine. I asked the prosecutor to hold her accountable and I get thrown under the bus by the prosecutor when he let the court know I asked for the hammer. Made things at home real nice for a month. I think the wife is still pissed for trying to get her daughter hard time.

Must be a twin of my sister. My sister used to be a stage actress and she is an amazing liar. I think she actually believes her lies.

She's been a drug addict for years BUT my parents refuse to make her accountable. My sis was arrested for grand larceny after stealing 20K worth of jewelry, fled that state, was arrested in Alabama and extradicted back to NC BUT my parents paid it all back to the jewelry store for her so they'd drop the charges!

Then to reward my parents for that she stole my mother's jewelry AND my mother's checkbooks and forged several checks. I demanded my mother file charges which she did but my mother later dropped those without my knowledge. *Myself, I don't let thieves onto my property but I guess that's a hard lesson for parents to learn.

On my sister's last visit to my parents' house, two handguns went missing.

My brother and I both agree, my sister is virtually beyond redemption. If anyone doubts that, please give me your address so I can send my sister to live with you.

cypressbog, you should have asked that virtue signaling prosecutor "when are you inviting my step daughter into your home?"

The fact is, drug addicts alienate everyone around them to the point that no one with any sense wants them around, except for weak parents I guess. Yes, my parents have always let my sister get by with everything. The utter hell she put my parents through growing up would blow your mind but it was done without repercussion so I shouldn't be surprised she turned out the way she has.

[jjzepplin]

Originally Posted by cypressbog

^^^THIS! My older step daughter is a piece of work (she was 19 when I met her mom). Constantly borderline homeless unless sponging off her g-ma that refuses to tell her she's not allowed to stay with her. Refuses to work and is taking drugs. She got sent to jail for a year for her 3rd time retail theft. She gets out on a monitor bracelet a couple days later and what does she do? Yep, arrested again for retail theft. Yep, bracelet and all. They dismissed charges and gave her a big fine. I asked the prosecutor to hold her accountable and I get thrown under the bus by the prosecutor when he let the court know I asked for the hammer. Made things at home real nice for a month. I think the wife is still pissed for trying to get her daughter hard time.

OMG! My brother has somewhat of the same problem. He married a nice lady that has a son. She said when he was young that she would spoil the crud out of him as she loves him ever so much. He was expelled for selling drugs. He got back in school after his punishment program was completed. He then got arrested for selling pot and got that exsponged by completing a program. He than got arrested- wait for it- yep- for selling heroin. He got off of that by his parents paying through the nose for lawyers. He then -22 years old now- hit his mother and beat on my brother a bit and finally got kicked out of the house by my brother but not the mom. She still pays his insurance and car bill and his rent. Go figure. Spoiled- Mission accomplished! We cannot even visit him anymore as it is way too disgusting at this point. My kids are grown and one is out of college with a degree. The other is in college and going for a masters. His boy is selling drugs and works at a carwash. What went wrong?

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

OMG! My brother has somewhat of the same problem. He married a nice lady that has a son. She said when he was young that she would spoil the crud out of him as she loves him ever so much. He was expelled for selling drugs. He got back in school after his punishment program was completed. He then got arrested for selling pot and got that exsponged by completing a program. He than got arrested- wait for it- yep- for selling heroin. He got off of that by his parents paying through the nose for lawyers. He then -22 years old now- hit his mother and beat on my brother a bit and finally got kicked out of the house by my brother but not the mom. She still pays his insurance and car bill and his rent. Go figure. Spoiled- Mission accomplished! We cannot even visit him anymore as it is way too disgusting at this point. My kids are grown and one is out of college with a degree. The other is in college and going for a masters. His boy is selling drugs and works at a carwash. What went wrong?

What went wrong? Nothing.

Paraphrasing Terminator 2 here "it's in some people's nature to destroy themselves."

I type that because I have three cousins dead to drug use. It was just their destiny. It's something they wanted, they had to want it because each of them knew drugs are addictive and destroy the body and mind. No one held a gun to their heads and forced them to put chemicals into their bodies. They didn't "catch a disease." No mosquito bit them, no one sneezed on them, they didn't have unprotected sex and caught the "disease" of drug addiction. It was a choice they knowingly made.

The three cousins drained my aunt of all her savings on their way out of their lives. Her first son, MIT graduate, PHD holder and college professor, her second son, and her grandson all dead. PHD blew his head off with a shotgun when facing trial for sales. The second spent 10 years in prison for sales and was dead within 6 months of release by overdose (he was also living with his mother and back to draining her of all her money). The grandson died of a drug overdose while sharing a motel room with his GF. She didn't call him an ambulance because, well, they'd ask questions and her BF's life just wasn't worth her getting busted again.

Whole family wiped out due to very dumb choices. My aunt was very nieve though, she actually believed her two sons were "starting a business" when she took out a loan on her house to fund it. Only problem was that "business" was drug sales. She lost her house and most of her savings... thanks to not putting her foot down.

On the plus side, since her sons are dead, she is free and not burdened by their leaching. She even admits this herself.

*In 1995 the older son asked me to room with him while we took organic chemistry together. I turned him down. He went on to get a PHD.

[The Rocknrod]

I've said it for years, drugs are the bane of society. A mind of a person on drugs isnt their own anymore.