Posted on 08/30/2010 10:19:51 PM PDT by fred4prez
If the guy indeed had a flashlight and it was turned on as he was wondering around your yard, then likely it was not a burgler. It was probably an idiot looking for his dog in your yard.
That said, I would not have approached him as you did without having your gun in hand. Be darn careful in that situation though. You do not want to shoot an idiot only looking for his dog.
Sounds to me like he fed you a BS story,,,
Stay armed,,,
They always come back...
It is quite common for bad guys to call the police and report “a man with a gun”. Even if you do not display it of course because they are well...bad guys and you scared intimidated them and they want to get back at you.
They do so also in an effort to cover their a$$ and to get back at anyone having the temerity to chase them off.
Some people recommend you immediately call the police. That's up to you. That course of action has it's own pluses and minuses.
I think the best advise you were given here was to note the individual.. Observe him, try not to be observed yourself. Certainly do not open the door and engage in conversations or anything else (You have no idea if there is one or five people out there.
You also should not be the only one in your house who is assuming a defensive posture.
States like Arizona allow for defensive displays but they are still a poor idea.. because of the enemies false allegations.
You need to know the laws of your State. You need some SOPs worked out in advance when your not worked up to guide your decision making process.
These are not questions and answers you want to guess about or try to figure out on the fly.
W
Good to see you in the forum. Haven't seen a picture post from you in a few weeks and was wondering how you're doing. Happy to see you're doing good in the vim & vigor dept.
Looking forward to more of your photos, but I know it's getting harder for you to get around these days.
Stay angry ... I know I am!
Sometimes people do stupid things. I had a friend who entered a backyard of a house they USED to rent. He wanted some lemons, and the people living there never picked them. I don’t know WHAT he was thinking.
I once stopped some teenagers looking inside cars in the parking lot after midnight. They also told me they were looking for their lost dog. I told them there weren't any dogs inside the cars and to get lost.
Too much else going on right now. It's not the best season anyway, not much happening in the places I can get to.
I've been playing with the old Minolta 35mm XG-M some, even picked up a flatbed scanner that scans film negatives. I'll keep on with digital, the old Minolta is just cool to look at and fun to play with.
With the scanner I can process images in Photoshop just like from the digital cameras, something else to play with and keep me from being tempted by the TV.
You can't have too many toys!
Several years ago I saw some kid with a backpack jogging down the driveway that serves a couple of houses behind my yard. He was looking behind him, and was out of place. And I knew he was heading to a dead end. (My backyard). By the time I had reached the backdoor with the shotgun from the hall closet he was hopping over my fence.
I let him see my shotgun (not pointing it at him, just holding it) and yelled “Hey - what are you doing?”. He looked up and in the same motion was back over the fence. I went to go call the cops and out the front window I saw a squad car slowly cruising by.
I stashed the shotgun behind the front door and flagged the cop down and pointed out the direction of the kid. Never heard anymore about it.
Now if I hear a noise at night I have the flashlight in one hand, a pistol hidden in the other to avoid scaring a neighbor looking for their pet, and my dog leading the way.
LMAO
Hahahahaha
“...there are 57 states with their unique laws...”
yes. about those 57 states ...
That deputy was an idiot. Also he was attempting to gain entry into the home that by accounts he thought was unoccupied and at 11:30 at night.
Walking around simples yard and attempting to gain entry into a house is to entirely different things.
A barking dog and a gun. Sounds like you’re covered.
Lock and load and be careful and extra vigilant the next few days—he may have been the guy casing out the place for a return visit by others up to no good.
Put a hasp and a lock on the inside of any gates to the fences and a few “beward of dog” signs up, too.
I agree. Doesn’t sound like the guy was a threat. Wandering around banging into things with a flashlight, not exactly “It takes a Thief” material...
But, that being said, I’d keep my eyes open anyways.
I was nearly arrested once for this. I was canvassing for a petition, with the appropriate documentation. I was just about finished my run and it was still light out though dimming pretty quickly. About 845 pm.
Had two more houses left to finish my area that I had been assigned. Pull up to first house, two big dogs in the front lawn, gate locked. Back gate open.
I say, ok, I guess this guy wants folks in the back door and not the front. Walk up, guy comes out and starts hollering at me like a crazy person.
Show him my badge, and he doesn’t seem to understand. Asks why I’m in the back yard, point to the locked front fence. Apologise for the intrusion, and move onto the last house.
Collect another signature, walk back to my car, and head home. Get in the car about 9pm.
Decided to stop at the local convenience store and talk to the clerks. Clerks both sign so I take out the petition, and have them finish up. Head back into my car, it’s dark out, but not pitch dark. About 930pm since they were pretty gals. :)
Drive back to my place, stop off at the neighbours house, longtime friend, and one of my former teachers who I hadn’t seen in some time. She had mentioned earlier that her husband wanted to sign the petition, so I decided to stop in.
Have a good conversation and catch up on years worth of visiting. I leave their house about 1030 pm.
Cop sirens, and everything waiting for me, when the cops come across my vehicle parked on the side of the road. It’s a very rural area.
Cop pulls me out and tells me to assume the position. Searches me. Finds nothing on me. Asks me what I’m doing out this late at night, and I told him, I was visiting a neighbour, and that my house was half a mile down the road.
Doesn’t buy it. I want to show him my paperwork and documentation explaining that I had been canvassing that evening. Cop just about shoots me when I attempt to re-enter the vehicle. Big mistake.
Cop pulls me out and back in the paddy wagon. By now the neighbours have noticed and have come out to ask the cop what is up. I sit in paddy wagon while my friend is explaining what is up. Cop asks for license, registration, all my ID, still not buying that I know these people and have known them for 15 years.
Tells me to sit in the vehicle and by now the tow truck has arrived. My car gets towed away. Still haven’t found out why I’m being detained! After sitting there for another 10 minutes, the cop comes in from speaking with my friend and explains the situation to me.
The fellow I had spoken to earlier had reported a prowler in a stolen vehicle in his backyard after dark. I explained the circumstances to the cop, again showing my badge, documentation and the petition signatures I’d collected. Still no luck with the cop.
I end up riding the paddy wagon 30 minutes back to the downtown. Cop sits me down in the station but doesn’t cuff m, as I tell him I won’t go anywhere unless instructed to leave. Sit there another half an hour.
Finally the Sargeant comes to me and tells me that he’s very sorry for the whole mess, and that the fellow I had ran into had actually been admitted that evening into the hospital ward. Apologises for the inconvenience and tells me that I can pick up my car on monday (this was on saturday night).
I end up calling my poor friends, who were kind enough to pick me up from the station, and drop me off back at my place.
The next day I got a ride into town and was able to pick up my car for a 150 dollar tow bill including two days impound. I must have collected 600+ signatures going door to door with zero incidents except for this one.
“..and that the fellow I had ran into had actually been admitted that evening into the hospital ward.”
Okay - you can’t just leave us hanging. Was he admitted because he was a crazy person, drug o.d., shot his leg as he went to get his gun to protect his home from the “intruder”, or did you give him such a fright he had a heart attack?
All I was told is that he was admitted to the ward after the cops showed up on his property. I presume given what I saw the cops figured he was a crazy person.
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