Thread: The Patio

My patio, my sanctuary? Not so today. About 1/2 hour before the end of my +10 day of my normal 4x10+10 schedule, the wife called to say a person was in our back yard at the window and she yelled at him to go away and was going to call the police. He jumped over the wall (obviously in good shape as it is five feet high where he went over) and left. She called the police and they asked if he tried to break in. She said she didn't know and they told her it was trespassing and someone would come by some time to take a report. She told me she now knew he had pulled off a sun screen and was prying at a window with a screw driver. I told her to make sure the doors were locked and call the police back and state he was trying to break in. I told her I would head home as soon as possible.

LE did respond this time and investigate. I wrapped up and headed home. Maybe I should have left right away but there were issues at work, wife appeared to be in no immediate danger, it's 40 minutes to get there anyway and why violate rules about Journeyman being on site etc.

What was I gonna do if I got there anyway? (gotta rationalize this in my mind)

When I got home, investigating officer had come and gone, screwdriver was from a cabinet on the patio, lot's of other evidence someone had been looking around for stuff. Officer dusted screwdriver for prints. Inconclusive results. Appease the homeowner.

Investigating officer stated we had the best security we could for the doors we have. Sliding glass doors like many of you have but with deadbolts that mean you can't just break off the plastic handle and open the lock with a screwdriver. They also make it noisier but not impossible to pry the doors out of the frame.

FWIW this kid did not seem to be worried about making noise. He was out of sight of passers by due to our LA east privacy walls. I love life here in stinking desert valley of the sun.


No doubt the all LE agencies in the entire valley are concentrating on this heinous crime. OK, I am being facetious and know the realities of the situation. Investigating officer did say there were young citizens in the area who were inclined to look for opportunities on the way home from school. Do you think the architectural committee of the neighborhood association will approve standard two strand barbed wire on 45 degree angle or maybe a roll of concertina wire on top of the walls?

OK, facetiousness again. Just really pissed off that my patio ain't the sanctuary I hoped it could be.

All is good. Happy patioing and investing and life in general.

PO

perhaps the young man needs more lead in his diet.

Attachment 28568

The problem is the thug may return at a later date - suggest you take the wife to the firing range. Next time allow him to enter the house and you can be sure with appropriate measures he won't return. Only his dear mother might miss him.

Your situation reminds me of a true story. I knew a retired black gunny from the Marines that still lives in Ocala. Well one evening he is at the atm drawing out some money when two black youth thugs approached and tried to rob him - he took out his gun and shot both of them. The prosecutor told him they were sending him back to prison not because he shot some trash but because he's already a convicted felon and not suspossed to have a gun. So while he is doing his two years in prison, his girlfriend is driving his caddy and his VA check is going right into the bank. The state of Florida is providing him health care and three squares/day and clean sheets. So eventually he gets out - then one night he's at home watching TV with the lights low and behold a crazy crack addict breaks into his house and of course he gets his black ass shot. The prosecutor says we're not sending you back to prison for shooting the trash but because you are not allowed to have a gun - and this guy is a retired gunny sergeant who probably sleeps with heat. And so the cycle repeats. It's insane the way some people get treated - now we have stand your ground with a no bag'em limit in Florida - that should thin the population of thugs a little.

We had a similar violation of our private property last week.
Around 7PM my neighbor came rushing into my front door screaming that he saw someone go into my garage. I have two garage doors and only one was open, he was a kid about 17 years old. The neighbor rushed came over and confronted him, the guy pushed buy him in an attempt to get away but the neighbor grabbed him and body slammed him down on the driveway [my neighbor is 6'4" and 255 lbs!] they struggled and the perpetrator got away and ran around the corner with my neighbor right behind him but outrun the big guy and got away. We found one of one of his running shoes [size 11] and a light jacket on the driveway'. He was after a bicycle a friend gave me [an old Mongoose trick bike], I planned to fix it up. Cops came took the evidence, did their thing and left. I know he was a local kid that lives close buy but doubt if they will find him. My garage if full of expensive stuff and he wanted an old rusted bike, hell if he would have asked me I would have probably given it to him. Those punks can run really fast!!!! I chained the bike to my table saw and left the bike in plain sight as BAIT!

Well only a ruthless conservative would set up a temptation like that - why not hook up an electric current to it - I mean like a big jolt.

Originally Posted by Birchtree

Well only a ruthless conservative would set up a temptation like that - why not hook up an electric current to it - I mean like a big jolt.

I'm open for ideas! Beartrap.jpg

Thanks for the replies. I just needed to vent and you people were handy. Most of the replies were scenarios that ran through my head.

Now Burro, the individual who wandered over the wall is probably an upstanding citizen overcome by the pressures of life and the desire for more things. I have to accept part of the blame for creating an attractive nuisance by owning a house with a patio and owning things. If they didn’t exist he wouldn’t have been tempted.

Birch, your suggestion taken under consideration but I am not sure her having access to a fire arm is a good idea. Even with training I doubt she would have remained cool enough to wait until he got inside. I doubt he would have got inside considering the tool he was trying to use and the type of window. Ripping off the sun screen might not be considered attempted forcible entry, perhaps just malicious mischief or vandalism. For all we know he may have noticed the screen was dirty and was going to clean it as part of his Eagle Scout program. She is a bit nervous in situations like this and probably would have emptied the magazine without remembering to aim, inflicting much property damage and maybe harm to herself. Plus she would have been arrested for discharging a fire arm within the city limits. If one of the rounds had hit the kid she could also be charged with assault and possibly manslaughter. Things are tricky here dealing with juveniles.

The investigating officer opined that the young man would probably not be back too soon as he now knew someone was home during the day. He probably will be back at some point since the drapes were open and he saw a lap top, TV, and other attractive items in plain sight inside the house once he entered the patio. The unsaid suggestion was we put all items out of sight or close the drapes at all times.

My goodness nnuut, left your garage door open! One of the first things that started happening around here in the then new subdivision was citizens ripping off things from open garages. LE advised us that leaving the doors open created an opportunity to turn good citizens bad and we should not do it. I don’t think attractive nuisance was the term they used but the idea was the same. By leaving the door open we were inviting good kids to help themselves to property they desired and believed had a right to. Therefore the homeowner was to blame, at least partly. I don’t think the LE types really believed any of this but it was the official policy at the time.

The subdivision was built on fallow farm fields that were commonly used as a gathering place for local youth groups. These groups often made their objections to the repurposing of the land known through art work on the new construction. Once the new occupants started moving in, the groups continued to roam the area and attempt to continue with their previous activities. Plus of course the new opportunities presented by new occupant’s possessions. It was interesting to see this transition from rural community to suburban utopia.

Thanks again for your inputs and for listening. This incident has made me realize that leaving the lap top on the patio even for the short time a replenishment of refreshing beverage or relief break takes allows plenty of time for a wall hopper to take possession of it and leave via the same route. Such is life on the patio.

PO

"My goodness nnuut, left your garage door open! One of the first things that started happening around here in the then new subdivision was citizens ripping off things from open garages. LE advised us that leaving the doors open created an opportunity to turn good citizens bad and we should not do it. I don’t think attractive nuisance was the term they used but the idea was the same. By leaving the door open we were inviting good kids to help themselves to property they desired and believed had a right to. Therefore the homeowner was to blame, at least partly. I don’t think the LE types really believed any of this but it was the official policy at the time."
My garage is still open, and will continue to be open. It's my property and in accordance to the Constitution it is my right to consider it as MINE! If the thiefs have the balls he can come back and git some more stuff, but it might be deleterious to his heath. We the people do not have to modify the way we live because some minority crooks can't make their own money to buy their own stuff. I will be cracking some skulls and bustin' some asses if it happens again. Bring it on!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by nnuut

"My goodness nnuut, left your garage door open! One of the first things that started happening around here in the then new subdivision was citizens ripping off things from open garages. LE advised us that leaving the doors open created an opportunity to turn good citizens bad and we should not do it. I don’t think attractive nuisance was the term they used but the idea was the same. By leaving the door open we were inviting good kids to help themselves to property they desired and believed had a right to. Therefore the homeowner was to blame, at least partly. I don’t think the LE types really believed any of this but it was the official policy at the time."
My garage is still open, and will continue to be open. It's my property and in accordance to the Constitution it is my right to consider it as MINE! If the thiefs have the balls he can come back and git some more stuff, but it might be deleterious to his heath. We the people do not have to modify the way we live because some minority crooks can't make their own money to buy their own stuff. I will be cracking some skulls and bustin' some asses if it happens again. Bring it on!!!!!!!

Good luck with all that nnuut. I still have to go to work and can't be here 24/7. Got to protect what I still have and be absent every day to earn more money so those who are deserving can have more free stuff. Including mine apparently. I can't even find my old Louisville Sluggers from earlier days which is too bad because they made excellent head crackers. Too bad as I really have no items that would work as well. Guess I need to look around for something. I prefer wood. As you stated earlier, these people are fast and I have no hope of running one down. Such is life.
PO

I'm retired and here most of the time when I'm not the house is locked up, it would take an idiot to leave the garage open when you are gone, I'm NOT one of those!