Posted on 08/30/2010 10:19:51 PM PDT by fred4prez
About 11:45pm tonight my dog started barking loudly, quite unlike her at that time of night. I grabbed my flashlight and went down to the garage to investigate, thinking it was another opossum...The garage was clear, but then I saw a guy in my fenced back yard, walking around with a flashlight. I yelled at him, and he replied that he was looking for his lost dog. Thinking back on it, I recall he did say something about "if you see the dog, I live at house # such and such"...however, I didn't much care what he was saying, I just repeatedly ordered him to leave the yard, and so he finally hopped over the fence, walked to the road out front, and disappeared into the night.
I called the cops, they patrolled back and forth a few times, but didn't see the guy. Then they came to my place and I gave them a verbal statement (I had asked 911 for them to stop by afterwards).
Right now, I'm just ticked at myself that my handgun (Sig 9mm) was still locked away in my portable case from target shooting at the range a few weeks ago, else I would definitely have grabbed it before heading outside; I could have at least detained him until the cops arrived. Maybe it's for the better anyway...I dunno. Let's just say my handgun is accessible again.
The guy was an idiot to be in someone's back yard, at night, here in TN.
Anyways, just thought I'd ask my fellow Freepers what advice you'd have to keeps "strollers" out of my yard. The freeway and Chattanooga itself aren't far away. What can be done to make my house look less inviting in general? I keep the outside lights on 24/7, and my wonderful dog - Java (yellow lab mix) - is fenced in the back yard.
Thoughts?
Land mines work well... or a moat.
'A very small boat' .. anchor!
Motion sensor spots. Once you get a visual, retreat to call the fuzz and get you and your dog to a defensive position so the cops don’t shoot your dog.
For what crime?
Under Tennessee law he was not trespassing...
39-14-405. Criminal trespass. — a) A person commits criminal trespass if the person enters or remains on property, or any portion of property, without the consent of the owner.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) A person entered or remained on property that the person reasonably believed to be property for which the owner's consent to enter had been granted;
(2) The person's conduct did not substantially interfere with the owner's use of the property; and
(3) The person immediately left the property upon request.
Get yourself some peacocks or geese if local laws allow. They are really noisy when intruders drop in.
I’ve thought about doing that here, but my Golden kills and eats any and all birds. Worthless as a retriever!
Freeper has a fence ... think voltage, lots of voltage.
Good advice.
Dont have babies.
The guy shouldn’t have been in your backyard. Kinda really really stupid.
That said, he could have been looking for his likewise dumb dog.
Big mistake to pull a gun on him.
I’d have stayed quietly inside, gun at hand, watched him closely, and possibly called 911. He might have wandered on, maybe not. But it’s not a good idea for you to confront a stranger, particularly one you think may be up to no good.
lololol
Sounds to me like you did the right thing. Years back, my cousin had motion sensor lights and an outside surveillance cameras (included sound) that hooked up to a tv & VCR on their service porch. It would record 8 hours at a time (VHS tape) & they just kept switching out the tapes. And then they just got a security system installed. They hear “beeps” whenever a door or window opens...
You did yourself a favor. Told him to leave and he did. No need to shove a gun up someones nose to detain if he was not a direct threat to you or family.
Maybe he was from the Government.
Maybe he was there to help you..
Interesting wording in the law...so what if I had had my gun, and instead of ordering him to leave, ordered him to the ground? Then could I be sued for wrongful imprisonment or something?
In your fenced backyard. Normal owners of escaped pets lurk in other peoples' backyards (around midnight, no less) and don't leave contact information... yes indeed that's how to locate a lost dog alright and make friends with sympathetic strangers.
With any luck he'll end up in a garden, pushing up daisies. :)
Trespass is a tricky area. You can't simply seize someone for being on your property. If that was the case you could lock up half your neighborhood. You can ask anyone to leave for any reason whatsoever, its your property. But if they refuse and lets say they aren't doing anything, just not leaving... call the law and let them deal with it.
When you make the decision to hold someone at gunpoint, it better be a situation where you were in fear of imminent bodily harm. Especially when outside your house, even if it is inside your fenced in yard.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.