Author Topic: Take Home Security Seriously!  (Read 1057 times)

Offline Jackalope

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Take Home Security Seriously!
« on: January 03, 2022, 06:49:53 PM »
   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.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2022, 06:52:48 PM by Jackalope »

Offline Nemo

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2022, 09:16:09 PM »
Wow.  Glad things all worked out well.

Wait a week or so for them to think about it and perchance a touch of encouragement to neighbor might get him into some gun handling lessons.

Nemo
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Offline JohnyMac

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2022, 09:41:51 PM »
Thank you Jackalope for relaying your experience to the group. Being observant and then acting is what I learned from your experience. Wow!
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Offline Felix

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2022, 09:58:48 PM »
OK, full Babylon Bee here, but not the usual.
The "suspect"  (that would be alleged suspect to you Mr. Jim) was only in the bathroom because he was afraid to bother anyone and was trying to avoid pooping on anyone's sidewalk (like they do in SF).  Just trying to do the right thing.   Nature's movement hit at in inconvenient time, a period of being disoriented owing to the poor directions given by some stranger he took to be honest and knowledgeable.
And of _course_ he was found hiding.   What else are victims of a racist, unjust society to do when fearing for their own lives after being dumped back on the streets for doing a crime they didn't do?
And you want to _shoot_ this unfortunate spark of divinity????
(sarc off)
-------------------------------------------------
Just last summer, here in our own little long, narrow valley, a neighbor was surprised to find a stranger (woman) in his house in the middle of the day.   Asking him if she could take her clothes off.  I shit you not.   Jerry (actually his real name) blew out the door and ran to neighbor across road and called the Sheriffs.    They came out (along with an ambulance) and took her away.    We are a small island of private land surrounded by National Forest, about 8 miles from the town (75k+) of Flagstaff, AZ.
Exactly where this deranged lady originated, who she might have been with, what medical/drugged condition she was in, we never learned.
My dear wife insists on leaving the house unlocked.  Like Jerry's.
Most of my firearms are in a safe, the rest not accessible to casual foraging or else they are with me.
What drives people to leave themselves vulnerable, I do not understand.   And none of my explanation suspicions are flattering.
On another stream-of-consciousness thread, my visit to Safeway in town today was mildly disturbing.   Many have noted market shelves running thread bare.    Well, this was the obvious case here today at Safeway.  Shelves either thinly loaded (fronted) or empty altogether.    I don't do much picking from the middle, mostly load the cart from perimeter... so I may have been oblivious before.   But today, nope.   It was notable.   (oh, and chatting with the attendant filling some propane cylinders for me at a gas station, he said one of the town's suppliers (a big one) had been without gas for a week.)
My sailing days may be in the rearview mirror.
But a blind weather eye should still be able to plainly see some heavy weather coming.   Whether it hits before our next watch or days, weeks or months from now, or even bypasses us, who knows. 

Offline FeedingFreedom

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2022, 10:17:07 PM »
I live in a small town, and in the 20-some years that I've lived here, I've had 2 people at gunpoint inside my house. Neither were obviously criminal, one was just an idiot who thought I had keys to the neighbor's house that he was visiting. Either could've gone horribly wrong, luckily the laws here are ok, and I have lots of insurance for attorneys if the need arises. If our local police aren't on duty, response time from the State Police is anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple hours, since at night, there are 2 troopers covering an 850-square-mile county.

Things are going to get worse, when people are hungry they will take insane risks if they think you have food or something they can trade for food. Or drugs. I know there's a pride in having the nicest house on the block, but the nicest house is usually the one targeted first. And a lot of the countries where these new "migrants" came from have a culture of kidnap and ransom, and not of millionaires, normal people.

The MO around here for a long time was addicts (usually meth) would find a house that looked unoccupied, then go and knock on the door for a while. If there was no answer, the door gets kicked in, they're in the house grabbing drugs, jewelry, and guns. Portable items of value. Average time is under 5 minutes from door kick to exit.

Practice, think, and practice some more. Think through what you need to do if you find someone in your house, are you able to access a loaded firearm almost instantly? Generally, if the gun isn't ON your body, you don't have a gun. Same if there's no round in the chamber.
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Offline Jackalope

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2022, 10:39:05 PM »
Wow.  Glad things all worked out well.

Wait a week or so for them to think about it and perchance a touch of encouragement to neighbor might get him into some gun handling lessons.

Nemo
   I don't think Jim will ever get into firearms, even for self defense.  He has some religious convictions, and I respect him for that, even if it does get him killed.  I've shot with Donna at my little range, and today she expressed the need for more training and practice.  I forget what she has for pistols, one was a .22LR and I don't recall the caliber of the other one.  She may be exploring some new models after today's incident.  There are some good woman instructors in town, and I may refer her to one of them for another training viewpoint.

    Talking with her and some of the Deputies, the police emphasized that Tennessee has a castle doctrine, so if someone is in your residence without your permission, you have the legal right to shoot them.  I just can't imagine walking into someone's house like that, the fellow must have been really drugged up, and that's what the police suspected.

    We're in a semi-rural area, that's usually very quiet.  Jim has lived here for over 20 ears, and he has always said that it's safe, very little crime, etc.  He couldn't understand the need for fencing, gates, etc., because it is so "safe".  I'm guessing he'll re-align his thinking.  I know his wife has definitely become more aware, the incident really scared the crap out of her. 

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2022, 09:40:19 AM »
Mmmm, I am hesitant to mention PERSEC things on line buttttt

I wear a handgun while in my house and 99% of the time while about except of course when I go to NY.

I shared this story a million times before however, many years ago we had a scruffy looking guy walk into our cabin one chilly morning. I commanded him to stop but he kept coming through the door so I pulled out a 1911 from under the couch cushion and pointed at him and again in a rather loud voice COMMANDED him to STOP or I will shoot.

All of a sudden he got the message looking down the pipe of my .45 ACP handgun and stopped and put his arms up and said in a quivering voice,  "I just filled your propane tank. I was just bringing you the receipt."

Sure enough in his left had was a bill. I told him to lay the bill on the glove/hat table at the door and leave. As he walked out the door, I followed him out and from my porch I explained to his back as he scurried quickly to his truck that he was an idiot and almost died. "What were you thinking I kept hollering at him?"

Not too soon after that, I went looking for a four legged door greeter, W3OOF. She too has done a few jobs on folks not wanted on our porch or coming in our door. 

Good discussion.
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Offline Jackalope

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2022, 10:30:51 AM »
   Dogs and firearms are often the last line of defense.  Jim and Donna also have a driveway motion sensor, which did indeed activate when the perpetrator walked down the driveway and then into their house.  Donna ignored that alarm and the door alarm thinking it was Jim returning home.  Complacency kills!

Offline Felix

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Re: Take Home Security Seriously!
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2022, 05:39:36 PM »
   Dogs and firearms are often the last line of defense.  Jim and Donna also have a driveway motion sensor, which did indeed activate when the perpetrator walked down the driveway and then into their house.  Donna ignored that alarm and the door alarm thinking it was Jim returning home.  Complacency kills!

To start from scratch, it is a task to be and remain "situationally aware".  "Yellow" consumes calories.   It is not habitual for most.   It simply isn't.
To realize you've been puttering around in "White" for an extended time should be embarrassing (but no need to admit it publicly just this minute).    OK, so you are familiar with the name "Jeff Cooper" already?

See https://www.americanoutdoor.guide/prepping/situational-awareness-color-codes/ if still curious.

I am no Saint of Situational Awareness, I do have my lapses.   But I will take your confessions, my sons, if you'd like to unburden in preparation for new commitment to the ideal...