My family and I were out working in the yard the other day and a strange thing happened and I was wondering what ideas y'all had about what I should have done differently. Like I said, my wife, kids, and I were out working in the yard. A guy walked by, and I noticed him because usually the people that are out walking are two or three kids, people walking the dog, or people I have seen before. He did not meet these criteria. He got off the block and I went into the kitchen to get a drink of tea and the wife and kids went into the garage to check the laundry. I looked up as I was getting a drink and saw the guy cutting across the yard and making a turn up the driveway. I alerted my wife and went into the garage. I caught him as he was about to come into the garage. He was walking quite fast and was very surprised as I came out from behind the closed garage door and met him at the open one. He was not slowing down as he was about to enter the garage. I told him howdy, what can I do for you? He couldn't think of anything to say and finally gave me some story about wanting to buy my wood splitter on the trailer in the driveway. I told him no and he walked off. I thought that the whole thing was quite weird. I wouldn't have thought anything about it if he had been wanting work, but he had no story and was definitely not slowing down as he was about to enter the garage. I have "hey mister"-ed work plenty of times, but I certainly have never just walked into someone's garage. Anyway, was there something else I should have done? I know this is not anything large, but what if I had not seen him? What if the wife had the garage door up and was working in the garage and I was not there and the guy just came in? This is alot of what ifs that only one person could answer, but it is still troubling. Or maybe I have too much time on my hands. We live in a pretty good, lower-middle class neighborhood and have not ever had any problems with anything here. Thanks.
strange occurrence at my house
- Thread starter texastele
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Texan Scott
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He saw an open garage and tools. Open invitation to a snatch&grab burglary, just whatever looked of value that he could carry. Still not to late to report to local LE... there may be similar incidents in the recent past or near future, and a physical description of a suspect could be valuable. Do it while it's fresh in your memory.
MedWheeler
Member
That was, as was mentioned, definitely a crime about to happen. Something would have left the garage with him.
I also would have gone out to confront him, but would have been discreetly armed as I did so (since I always am, anyway.)
Then, I would have watched him as he left the area, and passed it on to the PD.
I also would have gone out to confront him, but would have been discreetly armed as I did so (since I always am, anyway.)
Then, I would have watched him as he left the area, and passed it on to the PD.
ColtPythonElite
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Maybe he was looking to rip you off. Maybe he was interested in your wood splitter.
These snatch-and-grab thefts occur often in my area. A few weeks ago a neighbor of ours left some recent hunting-related purchases in his side yard just long enough to go inside and make a sandwich. He came back out only a few minutes later to find his stuff gone. A couple of years back our entire area was hit pretty hard; it seemed like everyone was missing industrial tools and hardware, copper wire and the like. A lot of it happened in the wee hours of the morning, but other times stuff had gone missing in broad daylight. The police traced a lot of it back to the same couple of thieves who were apparently stealing the stuff to support their drug habit. I wouldn't be surprised if your situation were the same case, fortunately you were there to prevent it.
tnxdshooter
Member
Maybe dude was a rapist figured you had left and was coming to the garage to rape and possibly abduct your wife.
We had a neighbor hire a "hey mister" for yard work who later returned to burglarize their home. Hiring "hey misters" is not without risk -- if you assume they only want work, keep in mind that you know nothing else about them and your assumption may be wrong.
The guy in your garage obviously circled back, thinking everyone was out of the house and in the yard. That's a common strategy. What will you do differently from now on to avoid being perceived as a soft target?
And your local LEO should be made aware of the incident.
Scary part about this is that you say your wife and kids were in the garage. Was he able to see that? Or did he think he was walking into an empty garage?
I think calling authority on this would be a must as well as talking with other neighbors to see if they had similar occurrences. And for the time being I think your wife should keep some pepper spray or some form of protection on her person while out and about in the yard and elsewhere.
I think calling authority on this would be a must as well as talking with other neighbors to see if they had similar occurrences. And for the time being I think your wife should keep some pepper spray or some form of protection on her person while out and about in the yard and elsewhere.
lemaymiami
Member
Texas.... you're about to get the standard routine from a guy who worked the streets for years and actually caught nearly every kind of offender at one time or another....
Trust your instincts... if you believed the guy was up to no good your challenge was right on the money. The next item of business is to get on the phone and get your local police there pronto... Many times the guy you saw might have a pretty good story lined up if your local cops find him - but unless you call it in - they'll never know it happened at all... After the dust settles you can ask yourself a few questions to sharpen the focus... What do you think might have happened if you didn't stop him or even know he was in your garage or house? Is that same guy in someone else's neighborhood right now -doing the same kind of thing? Most of us think of crime stuff as being theft of some kind but a few offenders are into different things entirely and they're very, very dangerous since they're actively looking for someone to hurt or kill...
Like I said, trust your instincts - then act on them, get you local cops out to your house and report the incident so that the entire shift can be looking for the guy. You might actually save one of your neighbors one way or the other...
Trust your instincts... if you believed the guy was up to no good your challenge was right on the money. The next item of business is to get on the phone and get your local police there pronto... Many times the guy you saw might have a pretty good story lined up if your local cops find him - but unless you call it in - they'll never know it happened at all... After the dust settles you can ask yourself a few questions to sharpen the focus... What do you think might have happened if you didn't stop him or even know he was in your garage or house? Is that same guy in someone else's neighborhood right now -doing the same kind of thing? Most of us think of crime stuff as being theft of some kind but a few offenders are into different things entirely and they're very, very dangerous since they're actively looking for someone to hurt or kill...
Like I said, trust your instincts - then act on them, get you local cops out to your house and report the incident so that the entire shift can be looking for the guy. You might actually save one of your neighbors one way or the other...
Mike1234567
member
Texas... were you carrying that day? I carry "nearly" every time I walk out my door... yeah my bad, should be every time. What if he'd been armed and wanted to hurt your wife or kids? Stories like yours make me want to be more cognizant about carrying here all the time.
From the OP I get the impression that you weren't then and possibly still aren't as concerned about this incident as you SHOULD be. That man had ill intentions, I guarantee. Letting him walk away without even a call to the police was a mistake, IMO.
Bentonville
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Call and report this incident. Get a good composite description from all who saw him.
lemaymiami
Member
Came back to this thread to see addtional remarks made.... then had a thought that all of us should remember. Your best defense against trouble in your neighborhood is your neighbors and every one of us should be looking out for them as well. If your suspicions are unfounded it won't take any cop long to figure things out. The best crime response that I know of is prevention.. and calling in a suspicious incident might actually save one of your neighbors...
FuzzyBunny
Member
Almost the exact thing happened to some close friends. The difference is the bad guy hit and left the garage with some $$ tools. He went to close the garage door 10 minutes after he saw the guy but the deed was done.
besafe2
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A BIG +1 to this.
red04montels
Member
I think you did it right, as others have said, I would call the local police non-emergency line and just fill them in.
Not a whole lot more you can do at this point.
Not a whole lot more you can do at this point.
captbluemoon
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cell phone pics go a long way
Does your garage have a door that exits the back of the house?
Maybe he was just going to walk in and exit leaving a door unlocked for later.
This may sound wrong but you sometimes have to think like a crook to beat one.
If you think that everyone in the world is honest and no one would do something like that you will be a victom.
My brothers girlfriend had her car window busted out twice because she kept leaving her purse on the seat in plain sight. She said its empty why would anyone want my old empty purse? She paid for 2 broken windows till she figured it out.
Another thing, dont ever think weather will prevent a thief. Ive been robbed twice when its raining and thunder.
Maybe he was just going to walk in and exit leaving a door unlocked for later.
This may sound wrong but you sometimes have to think like a crook to beat one.
If you think that everyone in the world is honest and no one would do something like that you will be a victom.
My brothers girlfriend had her car window busted out twice because she kept leaving her purse on the seat in plain sight. She said its empty why would anyone want my old empty purse? She paid for 2 broken windows till she figured it out.
Another thing, dont ever think weather will prevent a thief. Ive been robbed twice when its raining and thunder.
Tejicano Loco
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Exactly. I always have either a digital camera or my smartphone on me or my night-time grab bag. If I go to investigate anything - like this - I have it in my off hand (on a lanyard) powering up as I am moving to whatever I heard that alerted me. My shooting hand has my Saiga-12.
If I find some random guy on my property, if I haven't caught him red-handed, I will start snapping pictures as I begin asking about his intentions. Him knowing I have pictures of him will have some deterent effect on him coming back. Any good pictures I have of him can be forwarded to the police as well.
stonecutter2
Member
Glad nothing happened, don't "what if" yourself into an imaginary panic.
Trust your instincts, be diligent about security for the next few months, don't leave the garage door open and report suspicious people. Lock doors and check them.
Seems like this guy was up to no good, but no one will ever know. Glad you're fine and your family is fine.
Trust your instincts, be diligent about security for the next few months, don't leave the garage door open and report suspicious people. Lock doors and check them.
Seems like this guy was up to no good, but no one will ever know. Glad you're fine and your family is fine.
Lex Luthier
Member
He was casing your property and checking your response. A young urban yute once came to our back door and asked "Do you know what time is it?" and then had the naive nerve to ask for a drink of water. One of his friends did the same thing to my next door neighbor soon after. They left quickly and did not return.
351 WINCHESTER
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Looking for a quick score to pawn for his crack habit most likely.
Tommy Van Alen
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what cars did you have in the driveway or garage?
A friend of a friend had three cars, but only a two car garage. He kept his sweet 68 Camaro in the garage, along with a pick up truck. Some four door sedan like a Taurus or maybe a newer Impala he always drove back and forth to work.... he kept that in the driveway. One day, he took the sedan to the shop to get some work done on it. So his driveway was empty, making it look like he wasn't at home. So that night while he was asleep down in the basement, a bad guy broke in through the garage's side door, then got into the kitchen. All the walking around upstairs woke him up.
This guy was not into guns at all. He gets out of bed, still down in the basement. Waits by the bottom of the stairs. As the bad guy comes down the stairs, the homeowner finally gets up enough nerve and goes "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE MOTHER ______?!"
and chased him out of his house.
good on you for paying attention to your spidey sense.
A friend of a friend had three cars, but only a two car garage. He kept his sweet 68 Camaro in the garage, along with a pick up truck. Some four door sedan like a Taurus or maybe a newer Impala he always drove back and forth to work.... he kept that in the driveway. One day, he took the sedan to the shop to get some work done on it. So his driveway was empty, making it look like he wasn't at home. So that night while he was asleep down in the basement, a bad guy broke in through the garage's side door, then got into the kitchen. All the walking around upstairs woke him up.
This guy was not into guns at all. He gets out of bed, still down in the basement. Waits by the bottom of the stairs. As the bad guy comes down the stairs, the homeowner finally gets up enough nerve and goes "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE MOTHER ______?!"
and chased him out of his house.
good on you for paying attention to your spidey sense.
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