Follow you home...not just a Nickelback song

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Stressfire

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So here's a fun one. Apologies for the length, but am going for accuracy.

Was out walking the dog last night around 11pm. Dumb? Perhaps, but when the girl's gotta go not many other options. I was also carrying my Bersa .45. Was about 3/4 of the way through our well-lit 2 block route when this guy (crackhead is likely, mid 20s, about 5'8" 140 or so) wanders out of a driveway behind me about 10 yards back.

I didn't really think much of it, but as I am a bit uncomfortable with strange people behind me, i nonchalantly jerk the dog's leash and get her to stop on a tree lawn, I then move aside and "allow" drug addled male to pass and he walks up the next driveway. I also noticed that he had a "talking" shoe - where the sole comes loose from the upper, this is important for later. I continue on my way.

As I was entering my driveway (i live in an older house split into 2 apartments) I hear a telltale "flapping" behind me, I check with my peripheral vision and see the guy from earlier walking down a driveway next door and coming out to the sidewalk. At this point it occurred to me that the guy had been following me through backyards.

I continue up the driveway and stop at the door to my apartment. I turn and see the man's shadow being cast across the driveway - he is hiding around the corner of the house (my door is at the rear of the house).

The short version is that I told him to go away, the actual language used is inappropriate for this site. I enter my apartment, lock the door, release the dog, and call up to my fiancee to get 911 ready to dial. Then I see the door handle jiggle. The door is older style with a large window taking up the upper portion. I peek through the side of the curtain opposite the knob and lock and see him attempting to jimmy the lock with a card.

Sigh..wonderful...Well, I am lacking in the home shotgun area, however I do have a recording on my cell phone of a Remington 870 being pumped. Technology does have its place:D in HD. So, I crank the volume, hit "play," and announce that should he continue with what he is doing he's going to find a lot more than he bargained for on the other side of the door. The next sound I heard was the rapid flapping of his talking shoe and confirmed with the fiancee upstairs that she had seen him bolting back down the drive. I thought no more of it for the rest of the night, but made certain to bolt and chain all doors. For the record, i did call the police afterwards, but they never showed up to take a report.

All told, a happy outcome...besides the fact that this crackfiend is still out and about and now knows where I live.

So, judgements? Comments? Suggestions? Snide remarks?
 
Sounds like you did all right. I own my home so had the shadow been cast on my property I would have up armed to my ar or shotgun and confronted them. Confronting is not the ideal thing to do but I would be a bit upset about someone following me and attempting to break in. Knowing its a single male gives me confidence that I could handle it.

The police in your area suck BTW. You should complain. Hillsborough County Sheriffs Dept. is wonderful at responding to these type calls.
 
Good use of situational awareness. I'd keep an eye out for him for a while- he's probably sleeping in the oleanders behind you local 7-11/Circle-K.
 
As silly as this sounds, there is NO law that the police are required to protect you. That's has been upheld in courts many times. Legally, the police do not even have to respond to an emergency call.

A. Chair Lawyer, PHD. and xyz :)
 
sounds good I think, but why didn't you just rack the slide of your pistol and tell him to buzz off? I know its easy for me to say but if you live in a nice neighborhood I would like to think I would have taken notice sooner.
 
The police in your area suck BTW
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Trust me, I know. But complain to who? Chiefs who condone laziness, or city officials who really only care once every couple years?

Yes, I am aware that
there is NO law that the police are required to protect you
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why didn't you just rack the slide of your pistol and tell him to buzz off?
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I had actually thought about that, but it was already loaded and the hammer doesn't make much sound when cocked. Didn't want to risk a slam-fire or AD and end up capping the guy as I would have no justification at that point.

Then i remembered the recording I had from my last session out at the FIL's property when I took his 870 for a spin.

I am not terribly worried for myself - I have the capability to defend myself both physically and ballistically - I am more concerned for my fiancee who refuses to touch any firearm:confused:...but that is a topic for a different thread
 
Trust me, I know. But complain to who? Chiefs who condone laziness, or city officials who really only care once every couple years?

Yes, I am aware that
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Here in Tampa the Mayor selects the police chief. I would start there. Our county sheriff is elected so if he messes up bam gone.
 
So, you went inside the house and then he tries to use a card to enter knowing that you just went in? That's odd.
 
Crackheads are dangerous folk. They are fiending for that next fix and will kill to get it. I'd say you did alright but it would worry me that now that guy knows where you live and that you have guns. Not to add to the worry but call the cops back again and stress the fact that you are afraid for your fiancee. Also talk to your fiancee, she may have just changed her mind about guns now that evil has literally been at her front door.

As Dave Chappelle says "MMMMM, peanut butter and crack sammich":D
 
That's odd.
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You're telling me. If I hadn't been decidedly freaked out, I would probably have found it a bit funny.

that now that guy knows where you live
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That would be my foremost concern

I much prefer heroin addicts, they at least ask for money nicely before attempting to rob you and if they steal your TV, they are at least courteous enough to sell it back to you.

The fiancee talk occurred last evening, she's thinking about it...then again, the fact is that she does not like guns, on the plus side that does not mean that she doesn't know how to use them. The conundrum is whether or not she would.
 
I would still want to file a report with the police to lay that paper trail just in case you needed to defend your life.
 
I work in the county seat (no pun intended), so I skipped the locals and went straight to sheriff's department on my lunch break, ended up filing the report with the same deputy that did my concealed carry license.

Just got back actually, not much they can actually do at this point, except climb all over the locals.

He also said the issue with lack of response may have been that I live on the border of the township and the city limits - so possibly some jurisdictional confusion there.
 
Yup. He knows where you live. He also "knows" you have a shotgun AND that you're not going to hesitate to use it.

Of course, always keep your alarm on and your firearms in the safe when you're not home.

And definitely call the police chief and get a complaint going. If you have to, write a letter to the editor and word it so that it fits your local attitude about guns.

--Wag--
 
He knows where you live now. This has several implications.

1.) Will he be back? Probably not. But if he gets particularly desperate, he may remember that you own a shotgun (I know you don't, but HE doesn't), and he may want to get his hands on that to obtain money from other people or to sell for drugs.

2.) If you didn't carry 24/7 (when legal) before, you certainly should now, and I would actually invest the 300-400 in an 870 and place it someplace secure and/or inconspicuous. You may need a more potent home defense weapon than a handgun.

You did the right thing. You avoided violence. You're probably clear of that guy forever. But you absolutely must keep alert now.
 
Sounds like you did a good job of keeping your cool and not to panic. It ended better for you and him. I would not have been so calm I think. Well played sir.

On an episode of "Self Defense TV" a while back, they said you're more likely to get a quicker response time from law enforcement if you call in and say home invasion in progress rather than prowler or attempted break in.

I live out in the country in a rather large county in Kansas that has maybe 3 deputies on duty at night scattered to all parts of the county. It would take a while for one of them to get here anyway. So I'm on my own if something like that were to happen.

I fully respect LEO, but they have a hard job and most of the time end up cleaning up rather than stopping crime.
 
True enough, and I doubt he will be a problem again, unless he actually resides in the neighborhood - I have not investigated that yet.

I am planning to purchase a shotgun in the near future, am hoping for one of the new Kel-tec KSG bullpups.

And I always carry, except at work where I cannot legally do so.

Edited for response to BUFF: At the time police were called it was over, and it wasn't so much calmness as it was calculating: I really didn't want to use my weapon, so did the first thing that came to mind
 
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You did a great job of using a psychological advantage to achieve the desired result; get the guy gone.
I'm a confrontational sort of person, and would most likely have done something other than go inside when I realized that the guy was waiting beside my house. Not sure if I would have asked him if he needed help (you know, in a manner that seemed concerned and helpful), or invited him to leave using a more aggressive approach.
Either one has more of a possibility of ending badly for someone.

Door between you and bad guy + psychological advantage = best possible outcome (bad guy gone with no physical interaction).
 
DiCarnage, I really considered that when I was still outside. But here in Ohio the law is such that an aggressive approach on neutral territory could be viewed as initiating a conflict. And additionally, as not knowing what weaponry, if any, he might have been hiding I thought it prudent to get behind something solid.

In a couple days I may have a good laugh about this, at the moment the freakout factor is such that I have made my fiancee text me every hour and will likely be speeding home after work
 
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