Retaliation

[USAF_Vet]

Ok, so here is the situation I'm in.

Due to a case of mistaken identity, some jerk thinks I stole $300 and a lot of Vicoden (sp?) from him. I know his girlfriend, she was a friend of my wife, so I am aware of this clown, and he is aware of me, but that is about it. I've never actually met him. Why he thinks I'm involved, I do not know. Anyway, I just moved last week, and somehow he has my phone number but not my address. Not hard to put the two together and figure it out though. So after a few threatening phone calls, I get fed up and call the State Police and file a complaint. I've blocked incoming calls from his number and others associated with him through the phone company. So this morning my wife calls me at work and tells me the State Boys in Blue raided his house and dragged him off to jail on unrelated charges.

My concern is that my complaint put this moron back into the eye of the police, and that may be what caused the raid. But even though there may be no connection whatsoever, I can't rely on a known drug dealer and complete <deleted> to be reasonable about it. He knows I called the cops, and now he's sitting in jail. Now I expect a retaliation. Having said that, I've done what I currently can to set up defenses, but I'm not going to let it rule my every waking hour.

This sucks, so what else can I do to ensure I never have another problem with this guy?

 

[kingpin008]

This sucks, so what else can I do to ensure I never have another problem with this guy?

Honestly? Hope he stays in jail, or drops dead. I've been in a similar situation a few times thanks to running with the wrong crowd back in high school, and I realized that sometimes you just have to do what you can do and wait it out. Keep vigilant, and notify the police each and every time you have contact with him (or his associates).

That said, you might not have a whole lot to worry about. It sounds like this guy basically invented your apparent slight against him out of thin air - which leads me to think he's either an idiot, or easily tweaked, or both. In my experience, people like that don't keep up long drawn-out vendettas. Eventually they realize that they made a mistake and give up, or are convinced that you're not worth the repeated trips to the clink every time they try to start trouble and you call the cops.

In either case, good luck!

 

[Cosmoline]

I'd suggest getting a copy of his police file so you have a photo and giving copies to family and friends in case he shows up asking about you. You certainly should at least know his face.

A restraining order is also possible, but requires you to serve him with process and may further entangle you. It does nothing to keep him from killing you of course but it does help lay a foundation for future police involvement and as potential evidence if you do end up having to shoot him.

 

[txhoghunter]

This sucks, so what else can I do to ensure I never have another problem with this guy?

Honestly speaking, you can't really do anything. There is always a chance that you will run into him again.

However, you have put him in jail once, and he might take that as a reason to stay away from you so that he doesn't go back. You never know. Just make sure people you live with know what he looks like, and know not to let him into the house and to call the police if he shows up looking for you.

It would also make sense to arm yourself (if you haven't already), and take some defensive handgun classes. (But that goes for everybody IMO)

 

[USAF_Vet]

After we filed the inital complaint with the police, but before the raid that sent him to the clink, the trooper we spoke to called and told them if they contat us again, there would be stalking charges filed against them. This was this past Tuesday. Then sometime between Tuesday and Thursday, the cops raid the house and haul him to jail. Too bad he didn't resist more and commit suicide by cop. In any case, we do hope he spends a lot of time in jail. But because it was on unrelated charges, we will not be informed of his release, and probably can't get any of his records. Any further telephone contact from any of them is justification for a restraining order, but unless it's his girlfriend calling (then getting herself arrested for it) or him calling from jail, I don't forsee any contact unless it's in my front yard.

I'd rather be overly paranoid about this and have nothing happen than not be paranoid enough and have my family hurt. Still, he doesn't know any of my family or friends, and none of them would give this dirt bag the time of day. Depending on who he talked to, he might get more than he bargains for.

 

[DomMega]

Yes, nothing is the correct answer. The only problem with sending people to jail (even though you stated that he's in there for unrelated reasons) is that they have a lot of time to sit there and think about who supposedly put them in there. I would just relax for the time being knowing he is in there unless he posts bail sometime soon, and like you said gather up your defenses. Hopefully you've got your CCW and will be able to defend yourself and your family while out and about. Truth be told it honestly doesn't matter even if you had a restraining order on the guy, a piece of paper isn't going to keep someone away from you if they want to assault you bad enough. All you can do is stay vigilant and keep your eyes open. I wouldn't depend on law enforcement, unfortunately all they're able to do is react to crime not necessarily prevent it from happening.

Good luck chief.

 

[ForumSurfer]

Honestly speaking, you can't really do anything.

I agree. I've been in similar circumstances...only he knew my address. All you can do is stay alert.

 

[Remo223]

You can't do anything until he tries to do something. I'm in the middle of a similar situation only they know where I live. First thing this morning I was at a police station today to make a statement about being assaulted. There's no telling who is going to try to retaliate against me for doing that. I don't know if I will have broken windows by the time I get home from work. And to top it off, my concealed carry permit expired 2 weeks ago.

I thought concealed carry permits were such a good idea until today. Now I think they are just dumb. We shouldn't need a permit to carry.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Check out the book the gift of fear by Gavin DeBecker

 

[Old Shooter]

leads me to think he's either an idiot, or easily tweaked, or both

I agree with the evaluation but that does not make him any less dangerous.

My experience with persons with low level reasoning ability is that they are very unpredictable and are as likely to use violence as not to. When you talk to them it may seem to you as if they agree or understand what you are saying but then the other half of their brain kicks in and they are right back to unreasonable violence or actions again.

He may decide to leave you alone for reasons stated or he may not. If you should see him again don't take your eyes off him for a second, now and forevermore.

 

[leadcounsel]

Unpredictable situation - anything from worrying over nothing to full on assault on your life and property. Depends on whether he is convinced YOU put him there or someone else. And how far he is willing to go to extract revenge.

A few points -
Keep your address confidential and ensure that all other family that knows his acquaintaces breaks contact immediately and irrevocably. No phone numbers, facebook, myspace, etc. If you have kids, notify the school that only X persons are to pick up the kids. Stay vigilent around the house. Ensure there's no poison soaked dog treats in your yard. Install exterior lighting and cameras. Check around your car before you drive it (caltrops around the wheels, etc.). Sometimes these thugs do nuisance things like property damage, break windows, mess with cars, etc. Stock up on a few extra fire extinguishers in your home (firebombs through window scenario).

Teach adults in your house how to use a handgun/shotty, and keep one handy.

Tell your trustworthy neighbors to be on guard, and show them his picture if you have it. You can likely get his arrest picture online at the police precinct website. Heck you can even attend his hearing and trial. You'll have an idea of how it goes down and gain intelligence that way. You'll know his defenses at trial, and the states evidence, and also his sentence. Also - if you're not contacted as a witness, you and he will figure you had nothing to do with it.

 

[hso]

This is more of a legal question than S&T since the goal is to never have to interact with him.

FIrst thing is to get a restraining order so that it is constantly in effect that he stay away from you.

Go out of your way to be cooperative with the police and the DA. Perhaps they'll layer the threatening phone calls onto his charges.

You and your wife and any members of your family should have absolutely no contact with the guy's girlfriend.

 

[lemaymiami]

I like most of the above advice, here's a few additional thoughts and the way I've counselled folks in your situation... Anyone can come after you for little or no reason if they chose. It's your job to make sure that if they do, it isn't easy. Most court proceedings are public record and available on line. You now have a reason to learn a bit about that. Find him in the local system, and learn if he's still inside or out on bond, the charges he's facing, etc. Do it periodically so you'll know when he's back on the street. Stay away from him, call the police if he comes anywhere near your home or work. Create an info file to show responding officers (with case numbers if you have them, remember that responding officers may not have any idea of this guy's activities in the past) with wahtever's appropriate. If officers find him at your house or business they'll be much more effective if they know the whole story. Quietly explain the situation to your boss, co-workers, and neighbors and ask all of them to call the cops if anything looks suspicious. That should include a few precautions if you have kids that go to school, etc. Lastly, whatever defensive measures you take don't get too caught up in them to live your life. Many, many bad actors threaten folks, very few ever make any attempt to carry them out.

 

[dprice3844444]

1. get copy of report and keep copies at home,and in glove compartment of your vehicles.
2.get picture of fathead and attach to reports and make sure kids know perp's face
3.give copies to your closest neighbors in case he tries to sneak around the hood.
4.make sure you and wife are weapons trained and both have conceaed permits(both should have anyway)
5.carry pd's card in both wallets with case number and perp's name on it,just in case there's an altercation,you can give the number to pd for quicker lookup.
6.this makes it alot easier if you have to waste the pig

 

[tyeo098]

search his name on a mugshot website

itll tell you what he was arrested for

 

[Jolly Rogers]

You can get all the information on his arrest and possible conviction from the local court system. It is all public information.
Joe

 

[USAF_Vet]

I've looked him up and bookmarked him on the County Jail website.

Projected release date: N/A

This makes me happy.

 

[Art Eatman]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a threatening phone call a federal offense, as well as against state law?

 

[answerguy]

Possibly mentioned already but you should be able to be informed when he is to be released.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I asked my wife to call the court and find out when he is on the docket, I want to follow this as closely as possible.

I'm not sure if the threatening phone calls are a federal offense, but he did threaten to get me fird (in some random way, in his mind he probably thinks he could) which I know is a federal offense. I doubt though, that the feds would involve themselves over such a trival matter as this.

As long as he remains locked up, I'm not worried. I doubt his friends are so loyal as to track me down and try anything over a matter of $300.

I'm setting up motion sensors in the driveway to alert anyone in the house if anything of size passes beyond a certain field of view. Not a bad bit of peace of mind for $50 and an hour of my day. I also have motion sensors on the light on my garage, it just needs to be rewired. Big dogs, heavy doors, good locks, motion sensor alarms and lights, and guns. I think we'll be okay.

 

[Manco]

I'm dealing with a somewhat similar situation (more serious in some ways, actually), and what I've done is:

1) Fortify my house against forced entry, including the windows (double-glazed and laminated) and doors (metal security screen doors on the outside, solid doors with reinforced frames on the inside, all with commercial quality locks), which are each equipped with an alarm (and not a silent one). This won't stop everybody forever, but it will discourage and delay them significantly.

2) Arm myself and other family members. In addition, I constantly train to take on multiple attackers should that become necessary (the idiot can always hire thugs). For me that means Airsoft and realistic simulations in my house, and against other people whenever possible. Of course, I also train as much as I can at the range to make sure that I can shoot a real firearm in a comparable manner if need be.

3) Be vigilant, but not afraid to live my life. By preparing for the worst-case scenarios, I'm confident that I can handle the most likely ones. If it's my time, then it's my time (in which case it's good to have a trust set up), but I've done everything within reason to prepare to protect myself and my family.

On the one hand, I wish that I were not in this situation--something that I didn't ask for and totally do not deserve. I also sincerely hope that I will never, ever be forced to use any of the skills that I've developed as a result, although I will without hesitation if I have no other choice. But on the other hand, I can't deny that I feel better about myself having taken these steps, which I probably should have done on my own long ago. The training has also been rather fun, despite the absolutely serious reason that motivates me. Perhaps it is in poor taste to point that out, but it is true whether I say it or not. The reason that I say it out loud here is that I should have gotten into this stuff just for fun before my life was threatened, and maybe the same is true of others. Considering how much I've improved over the past year-and-a-half or so, it is fortunate indeed that I haven't been attacked. I still don't want to be, heck no, but at least I have some idea of how to handle it now (I hope!).

 

[Shadow 7D]

Get to know your neighbors, and circulate his photos, hell tell them what he is, and ask that they just call you if they see something suspicious.

 

[Gouranga]

this:

FIrst thing is to get a restraining order so that it is constantly in effect that he stay away from you"

This way should anything ever occur and you end up in a self defense shooting situation, the fact that he violated a restraining order to be in range of you bodes well for you. It also ensures without a doubt that you have tried to go a legal and non-lethal route to protect yourself.

 

[leadcounsel]

FIrst thing is to get a restraining order so that it is constantly in effect that he stay away from you.

Fuel on the Fire...

THIS might be bad advice for two reasons - you'll likely have to supply your address or where you work or else the restraining order would be hard to enforce and he has a right to confront his accusor and defend it in court. So you show your hand with supplying your address. ALSO - this is tying YOU to the EVENT, which is what you DON'T want. You don't want him to think YOU were the cause of this and a restraining order will certainly connect those dots for him, if he hasn't already.

Also, it could really tick him off further than he is.

And we all know they aren't bulletproof.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Some situations can be defused with intervention
some are much like a dud bomb with a fizzling fuse
best just to leave it alone, as disturbing will just blow up in your face.

In a few months (years if you are lucky) the guy will get out, and try to 'rebuild' his life, most likely by going back to what he was doing, and by then, hopefully you will no longer be a consideration, but if you are, most of the idiots are more concerned and conceited (they want you to KNOW they are coming after you) that you get some warning.

http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Gavin-Becker/dp/0440226198
good book, Gift of Fear, by Gavin Debecker
Here, if you have time say it's DV, and use his MOSAIC
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/MOSAIC-Gavin-de-Beckers-Online-Threat-Assessment-Tool

It's the tool that is used by DOJ for threats against judges and celebrities to evaluate stalkers.