Earlier this afternoon I was outside, walking the four legged security contractors, and doing homestead chores. I noticed someone pull into a neighbor's driveway with a UTV and then proceed to park it in the neighbor's barn. The barn is typically empty, so I thought it was strange. Meanwhile, the person who had been driving the UTV started walking up the road away from our homestead. The barn is located about a half mile from this particular neighbor's home, so it's not visible from their home due to terrain.
I had my wife call the neighbor to see if anyone had permission to park a UTV in their barn. The neighbor said, "No, what should I do?" I advised that she should call the Sheriff, which she did promptly. Next, my wife called another neighbor further up the road, to advise him to keep an eye out for this suspicious individual. We'll call him "Jim", and his wife we'll call her "Donna". Jim decides to drive towards our homestead, just before he reaches our house, he meets up with a Deputy, and gives a description of the subject, as Jim actually saw him as he pulled out of his driveway.
I join Jim in his vehicle and we drive back towards his home, but see no one, and no sign of the Deputy. So we drive around a bit, while looking for tracks, as we had fresh snow last night. We turn around again, and Jim's cellphone rings, it's his wife, Donna. Donna says she just called the Sheriff as she just saw the subject. Now the entire road is about 1.5 miles long, so we're not talking a big distance, it's rural, mostly open fields, some forested areas, and maybe 10 houses or so. So, we turn around and check out Jim's next door neighbor's house, which is empty, because his next door neighbor is in the hospital. We don't see anything suspicious, so we go to Jim's house.
Jim's wife, Donna, comes out of the house visibly distraught. She immediately says, "He was in the house, in the bathroom." Apparently, the subject saw Jim pull out of his driveway on his way to my homestead and thought Jim's house was empty. Donna was upstairs, and she thought it was Jim who came into the house. She went downstairs, and found a stranger in the bathroom. She ordered him out of the house and he quickly left. He was smart, as he stayed on paved surfaces to avoid leaving tracks.
The subject was caught a few minutes later by Deputies. He was hiding in an unlocked vehicle at Jim's next door neighbor, the neighbor who is in the hospital. The UTV that I originally observed was stolen. The subject had been released from jail, three days prior.
I was interrupted in writing this because I had to give a statement to an investigator. From what the investigator says, the subject will be spending a significant amount of time in jail, due to being a repeat offender, and the many charges levied against him. And he's not even from our County. The subject was in Jim's bathroom probably in an effort to find narcotic prescription drugs.
So, what lessons can be learned from this incident? I hate to say it, but if you see something, say something. In my case, I could have simply dismissed seeing the guy putting the UTV in the barn. But, I thought it was suspicious, so I brought it to the barn owner's attention, and things snowballed from there. As they say, that escalated quickly...
I give the Sheriff Deputies a lot of credit, there was a car on the scene for the original incident within 5 minutes of calling it in. When Donna called about the intruder in her house, they were there within 1-2 minutes, maximum. But when seconds count, the Deputies are minutes away.
Donna and Jim have a lot to think about. First, their house doors were unlocked. Second, they have an alarm system, which did indicate the door had opened. But Doona thought it was her husband who had entered the house. Donna does shoot, but she wasn't carrying a firearm at the time of the incident. Jim doesn't shoot, and he didn't want Donna carrying a pistol with a round in the chamber. Donna has already decided that she will carry with a round in the chamber from now on. It remains to be seen, how often she will carry a pistol, after this incident. The home invasion could have gone totally pear-shaped, she could have been killed, and her husband, as well, when he returned home. They've also decided to get at least one dog. They had been on the fence regarding dogs, but they've seen how our security contractors perform, and they've seen the light.
I explained to them that a good home security plan should have multiple layers. The outer layer should have fences and perimeter alarms. The middle layer should be comprised of good house locks and an effective alarm system. The interior layer can be dogs and personal firearms. I include cameras too, but they document crime, and are not a major deterrent. Attitude is important too, don't become complacent, and be prepared to act decisively. Don't let skills erode, practice regularly.
As a side note, one of Deputies said that if he found an intruder in his home, the intruder would not be walking out of his home, he'd be carried out in a body bag. The investigator that visited me this afternoon also emphasized the need to hone pistol skills to my wife. He felt it prudent to be prepared to defend yourself. You never know when you may need to act.
