evan price
Member
I posted this on OHIOCCW forums a couple weeks ago. Read this, and decide if anyone else would have shot the guy.
(Note: Minor details and specifics are withheld or altered because I want to preserve some anonymity. The story as told is correct, however)
My hobby is tinkering with cars, trucks ,tractors, machines, etc. As a result I tend to accumulate odd items around my property. Then Mrs. Price decides it's time to clean house.
The fall cleanup effort had yielded a few extra cars that were cluttering up the back 40 and I decided time had come to abandon the projects before the mice ate them up. I listed the cars for sale on an on-line listing and waited for calls. Sold a couple. The last one was lingering.
I got a call from a dude I'll call "D" this week. "D" told me he had seen the pictures of the car and was very interested in buying it. The car had a lot of nice features and some expensive equipment added to it. I was letting it go cheap basically to just recover what I had in it. "D" made me an offer on the car that was about $100 less than my minimum. Normally I discourage any sort of negotiations before the buyer sees and checks out the car. I offered to split the difference, meaning he'd go up $50 and I'd go down $50. He balked, he said he was selling his car to get the money to buy this bigger car and all he had was what he was getting for selling that car. We dickered around for a few minutes before he finally agreed to split the difference again, meaning, he'd pay $25 more and I'd drop $75. Well, I really wanted the car sold, so I agreed. I asked when he would want to come buy and finish the deal. He told me that he had sold his car and had no way to get to my house to look at my car. He wanted me to bring my car by his house. I refused (I don't do that.) He offered me $20 in gas money. Since I really wanted to sell the car I agreed, but only if we met someplace public. He wanted again for me to go to his house. I refused. He offered a business nearby. Then he mentioned he had a second car that needed mechanical work, a newer car that was still worth a lot of money if it had the engine replaced. Did I want to trade my car and some cash for his newer car? I said I would consider it. We set a time and that was that.
Now, the problem I had was, the guy was so tight on money he wouldn't cough up another $25 to buy the car. But out of the blue he offers $20 gas money? And he wants to meet at his house. Hmm...
Next morning I got home from work, loaded the car on my race car trailer, hooked up the truck, and put my Glock 21 loaded with 15 rds of .45 Winchester SXT hollow points on my hip. A spare 15-rd mag was on other hip. (Plus 2 mag extenders) A long grey hoody sweatshirt that zips in the front covers the Glock.
As I drive down there the guy calls me. And calls me. Again and again. He called me 5 times in an hour, always asking where I was, how soon till I got there, etc. Hmm, again.
I got down to where the meet was to go down, the Hilltop area of West side Columbus. I know it's not the best side of town. I know the area.
As I got down there, the guy calls again, and wants to know how soon I'll be there. He casually mentions he had sold his car to a guy that morning and was waiting on me to get there to finish the deal, so he would have money to pay for MY car. Another alarm. No money?
So I decided then and there to change the location of the meet to a commercial business I was driving past. I pulled in and told him since he still had his other car that ran, he no longer needed to be in walking distance from his house. We were meeting where I said. He said he would be there in a few minutes.
While waiting, I see a guy in a pickup truck pull in to the lot. He drives slowly past me, then pulls up to another car sitting by the road for sale. He looks that car over, sits a few minutes, and leaves.
Not long after here comes "D" with his girlfriend and a homey in his car. "D" and I talk, he and I test drive my car, then we get back. He says it's what he wants. He wants to buy. Problem is, since the other guy hasn't bought his car, he has to get the money from him when he sells the car. It would take half an hour or so to arrange, and did I want to go to his place to wait while he got it done? I said, No, I'll get some lunch from the fast food place in the parking lot. "D" says, No, I'll get my girlfriend to make lunch, come by and we'll kick back and wait. Again, I refused. Finally he left.
Eat lunch. Get a phone call from "D". He says the guy buying HIS car is not at home and that guys girl says he'll be back at 2pm. That's when the deal will be done. I'm annoyed about how the whole deal is shaping up. "D" asks, can his father look the car over? He's a mechanic, and he wants to make sure the engine is in good shape. I reluctantly agree.
About 2pm "D" shows back up. Then a guy drives up in a truck. It's "D"'s dad. Problem is, it's the same guy and same truck that was cruising around earlier that morning when I got there...!!!
"D" and his dad talk quietly. "D"'s girl and homey walk over to the car I am selling and hang out. "D" comes back over to the car. "D"'s dad walks over and looks the car over a little. Then "D" starts asking me questions, how much MPG does the car get, when the last oil change was, etc. I see "D"'s dad go over to his truck.
I saw him pull a claw hammer out of the truck.
"D" keeps asking questions and moves to the car, drawing me over to him. "D"s dad comes up with the hammer in his hand, at his side. I step back away from the car, and "D"'s dad chokes his hand up on the hammer, holding it at an angle against his leg.
"What are you doing with the hammer?" I ask.
"D"'s dad tells me he is going to "look for Bondo" and takes a step closer to me. He is now about 6-8 feet from me. "D" is behind me. "D"'s homey and girfriend are between me and the truck.
"D"'s dad moves his right arm back slightly and takes another step forward towards me, telling me it's a normal thing to do to look for Bondo by tapping on the bottoms of the fenders or quarter panels with the hammer.
I tell "D"'s dad, that he isn't touching MY car with any damn hammer. "D"'s dad stops about 4-5 feet from me, looks over my shoulder, and says, "Get away from that man's truck!" in a loud voice.
I knew where "D" was. I knew where "D"'s dad was. I could see the girlfriend out of the corner of my eye but didn't know where "D"'s homey was. I figured since I had locked the truck anyway out of habit, I had nothing to worry about, and this was a trick to get me to turn my head.
I stepped instead to "D"'s dad's left about two big steps, opening up space. I unzipped the hoody and let the right side swing back clearing the holster.
I could now see there was nobody by my truck, "D"'s homey was over by their car. "D"'s dad had been trying to get the drop on me.
I put up my left hand pointing at him, right side holding the hoody back from the holster, not quite gripping the Glock, and I told the dad, that I didn't know what the **** he thought he was going to do but he better take his hammer and get the **** out of here. "D"'s dad gives me a sick smile, says, "Hey, I don't want no trouble," and goes back to his truck, and leaves.
"D" gets upset and tells me he still wants to buy the car but the other guy still had to give him his money, did I want to go to his place to look at the other car? I said no. He asks if I need help getting my car on the trailer. I said no thanks. "D" and his girl & homey leave in his car. I load my car up on the trailer and beat it.
This was one of those time I was mad at myself, because this isn't the first car I've sold. It's not the first time dealing with questionable people in questionable places. I was mad because from the first time I talked to "D" that little voice in the back of my head said the deal was bad from the start; I am glad I listened. Don't know what might have happened without the CCW, but I am glad (once again) that I had it.
I still haven't told my wife all the details of this because I don't want to worry her; as far as she knows the deal just didn't work out. It's not the first hairy situation I've been in and I'm sure it won't be the last.
