SquirrelNuts
Member
I have a story and a lesson for everyone. My best friend (also a THR member) is going through the police academy right now. We live in Marietta, GA-which is JUST north of Atlanta. This week he is in Macon, GA (southern part of the state) at EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course). This is where he drives a Crown Victoria at high speeds through cones, water, backwards, and all sorts of fun stuff.
His wife calls me and we decide to go to Wally-World to buy a movie and then to Denny's for dinner. I meet her at Wally-World, and then we are off to Denny's. We eat at Denny's and are ready to part. She is getting into her car and I am standing beside her car when a white Ford E-250 cargo van pulls up, blocking in her car. The man calls me over and asks me for help. I reach into my pocket and slide the safety off my gun and wlak towards the van. The van is marked with lettering for an addiction recovery center/methadone clinic. The man tells me that he is from Macon and he brought a bunch of people up to a recovery center (but I notice there are no seats in the van besides the driver and passenger seats-very suspicious), and that he was robbed. I asked him if he called the police. He said yes, and they told him it was his problem.
He then asks me for money-even just change. I told him all I had was a debit card. He then pleaded again for money, this time in a more demanding mannor. I gave him the same answer. He told me he had been driving around for nine hours trying to get money to get back to Atlanta (north Georgia). He told me earlier he was from Macon (south Georgia). So I am thinking that he has been driving for nine hours, yet he cannot make a trip that is only five miles to Atlanta. This was his second suspicious point-first was the no seats.
I tell him that I cannot help him and he drives off. I look at the tag on the vehicle and it is from Fulton County-which is where Atlanta is-not from Macon where he claims. The man pulls back around again and blocks us in again. He asks me if there are any bars where people would have money. I gave him directions to a bar called SideLines. He asked me for the directions again, telling me that he has been driving around and has not seen it. I tell him again and he pulls off onto US-41 towards the bar. The second time he asked for directions, it sounded like he wanted to go there for a drink. His entire conversation was not 100% coherent.
I call 911 and tell them about the incident and tell them where he is heading. I am going to follow this man to make sure he does not hurt anyone. I see a Smyrna STEP unit in the parking lot near the Denny's and I tell him about the van. He could have cared less. I leave the parking lot and head towards the bar. When I arrived there were already two Cobb County units there and they had stopped him. I got out of my truck and told one of the officers my story. They pulled the man out of the van and he had about $50 in 1's and 5's under the seat. They asked him who the van belonged to, and he had no idea. It came back stolen. He was going around in a stolen addiction recovery center van telling people his story about being robbed and trying to get back begging for money. The man stumbled over to the police car and they put him in the back. I imagine he was trying to buy drugs. Who knows what he would have done if people continued to turn him down. Both myself and my friend's wife were armed, but luckily he did not try anything. I am glad that we were prepared in case something had happened. I had a similar experience to this with another begger, but this guy was very messed up in the head. This was my lesson to always be armed.
I hope this helps someone when deciding if they should carry one night or not.
-SquirrelNuts
His wife calls me and we decide to go to Wally-World to buy a movie and then to Denny's for dinner. I meet her at Wally-World, and then we are off to Denny's. We eat at Denny's and are ready to part. She is getting into her car and I am standing beside her car when a white Ford E-250 cargo van pulls up, blocking in her car. The man calls me over and asks me for help. I reach into my pocket and slide the safety off my gun and wlak towards the van. The van is marked with lettering for an addiction recovery center/methadone clinic. The man tells me that he is from Macon and he brought a bunch of people up to a recovery center (but I notice there are no seats in the van besides the driver and passenger seats-very suspicious), and that he was robbed. I asked him if he called the police. He said yes, and they told him it was his problem.
He then asks me for money-even just change. I told him all I had was a debit card. He then pleaded again for money, this time in a more demanding mannor. I gave him the same answer. He told me he had been driving around for nine hours trying to get money to get back to Atlanta (north Georgia). He told me earlier he was from Macon (south Georgia). So I am thinking that he has been driving for nine hours, yet he cannot make a trip that is only five miles to Atlanta. This was his second suspicious point-first was the no seats.
I tell him that I cannot help him and he drives off. I look at the tag on the vehicle and it is from Fulton County-which is where Atlanta is-not from Macon where he claims. The man pulls back around again and blocks us in again. He asks me if there are any bars where people would have money. I gave him directions to a bar called SideLines. He asked me for the directions again, telling me that he has been driving around and has not seen it. I tell him again and he pulls off onto US-41 towards the bar. The second time he asked for directions, it sounded like he wanted to go there for a drink. His entire conversation was not 100% coherent.
I call 911 and tell them about the incident and tell them where he is heading. I am going to follow this man to make sure he does not hurt anyone. I see a Smyrna STEP unit in the parking lot near the Denny's and I tell him about the van. He could have cared less. I leave the parking lot and head towards the bar. When I arrived there were already two Cobb County units there and they had stopped him. I got out of my truck and told one of the officers my story. They pulled the man out of the van and he had about $50 in 1's and 5's under the seat. They asked him who the van belonged to, and he had no idea. It came back stolen. He was going around in a stolen addiction recovery center van telling people his story about being robbed and trying to get back begging for money. The man stumbled over to the police car and they put him in the back. I imagine he was trying to buy drugs. Who knows what he would have done if people continued to turn him down. Both myself and my friend's wife were armed, but luckily he did not try anything. I am glad that we were prepared in case something had happened. I had a similar experience to this with another begger, but this guy was very messed up in the head. This was my lesson to always be armed.
I hope this helps someone when deciding if they should carry one night or not.
-SquirrelNuts
