Follow you home...not just a Nickelback song

Let's see:
-You are in the 2nd floor unit
-no window entry
-you have a dog that barks if someone comes to the door

Sounds to me as though:

1)motion detection activated lights/alarm (wireless driveway type)

2)a bar against the doorknob, such as:

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-265DCCSEN-Dual-Function-Security/dp/B0002YUX8I

3)discussion with neighbors

ought help you get a good nights sleep.

4) a home remote monitoring system, such as:

http://broadband.wordpress.com/2006/10/26/att-remote-monitor/

can give you peace of mind concerning the interior of your place before you get home.

Your companion walks into trouble while on the phone with you. Just what is she, or you suppose to do at that point ? Clearing the house visually before you, or she enters seems like a good idea to me.
 
I think you did pretty good. Like kraigwy said, it would have been a better idea to lead him away and somehow lose him away from your home. i probably wouldn't have thought to do it either. I imagine you were a little rattled (I would be) and wanted to be in the safety of your home. You need to address your shotgun problem. The recording was effective and funny as hell, but you need the real think. An old 870 or Mossy 500 can be had cheap. Don't worry about how much blueing it has left or the fact that the wood is destroyed from 20 years of sitting in the bottom of a duck boat. Just get one in good working order. Get a couple of boxes of bird shot and 4 boxes of #1 buck. You and your girlfriend go to the range and put those 2 boxes of birdshot through, shooting at cans, targets, whatever. Now that you know you have a properly functioning gun and some practice, put a box of the buck through it at varying ranges. She will have a much easier time w/the shotgun than a pistol, (so will any of us)Get some motion lights and some lights you can turn on with a switch that will light up the yard like a stadium. Look at getting some sort of crossbar/pipe bracket to fortify your doors.
 
Time to buy a 12 Ga, sounds like you did just fine but I would certainly take some steps to reinforce the door and then look at your place from a If I was going to break in quickly how would I do it and then take steps to counter whatever would be the fastest way to break into your place.
 
well, she's a beagle and more likely to roll over for a belly rub than defend.
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Don't sell beagles short as protectors. Every beagle I have had was very serious about looking after their people. They were vigilant, alerted others to hazards, and took effective action when needed.

When I was a kid, we had the same mailman for as long as I could remember. He was known and liked in the neighborhood. The beagle I grew up with would always stay between me and him.

The beagle we had when my daughter was an infant, stayed between her and the TV, whining and yipping until we moved the set and found the scorpion.

We once gave away a beagle to a family that wanted a companion for their golden retriever. Shortly after moving in, it was the beagle that found and killed the rattlesnakes in the backyard. I was told her head swelled up pretty good, but she came through it fine.

Regards,
Tom
 
September 1, 2011, 12:42 PM #1
Stressfire
Senior Member


Join Date: June 16, 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 249 Follow you home...not just a Nickelback song

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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.

So, judgements? Comments? Suggestions? Snide remarks?
__________________
"The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank" - Montgomery Scott
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Stressfire,

Glad everything worked out that night for you.

Just by way of saying "something to think about", & since you asked for any comments or suggestions, I have one.

The part that I included in the quote, about you seeing the door handle jiggle.....Why in the world did you feel the need to peek outside? If you knew he was following you & then the knob was moving, that's when I would have called 911 & also set up with one of my firearms in a position that affored me cover but also with a view of the doorway you mentioned.

In the scenario you described, I would NEVER go up to a glass window to peek around a curtain. If HE had a gun, you're face is what, one foot from him? If he was that brazen to follow you home and then approach the entry way of where you lived....you had to figure that the door knob jiggling was because his hand was on it outside the door!

Peeking around a curtain to confirm that it wasn't the wind (:)) is just like one of those horror movies where the damsel in distress hears glass breaking in the dark basement & calls out "Who's there?" as she descends the stairs. What the heck was she going down there for?

And why the heck peek thru a glass window when you strongly suspect (know, really) that the guy on the other side has already been an issue? That move really serves no purpose & if it was replayed, I would just forgo the peek & get on the phone & post up somewhere away from the door.

Thanks for allowing our input!
 
So do you live in Cincinnati, Cleveland or Youngstown. I assume its one of these cities because you said the Police never showed up.

I live close to Cincinnati and I think alot of people dont realize how dangerous of a city it can be, especially at night. But as was already pointed out, this can and does happen everywhere.

On a side note, do other cities legally allow panhandling? It seems like the panhandlers are way worse than they used to be before they allowed panhandling.
 
No 'net at home & long weekend

So responding in order from my last check in:

curt45: The window in the lower door is double thickness plexiglass, wasn't terribly worried about breakage to that - plus I reinforced with some molding cuttoffs to make it look like a 9-square.

Ambishot, publius: Shotgun is on the to buy list - slightly short on cash at the moment, but will be my next purchase. And no, if I'm carrying, last thing I want to do is go following anyone, would not take much intelligence for him to call that in, and all of a sudden guess who's the victim now?

A cell phone on your walk would have been a good idea.
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I had one, that's what I used to simulate the pump action, and to think I had originally intended that for a ringtone

Wag: Talked to downstairs neighbor about it, rather large burly fellow who has worked construction for the last 30 years - he will be helping to keep an eye out, and to further answer those who recommended a shotgun, after talking for a bit neighbor made same suggestion and lent me a mossy maverick 88 from his rather extensive collection-that I was completely unaware he had. Nothing special, but something he wouldn't care a bout having lost to the evidence locker if necessary. So got a new gun buddy out of this as well:)

As for the dog - no doubts about her whatsoever anymore. Sent a loose pit packing yesterday when it ran up on us out in the backyard. Had to stop her from swallowing the part of its ear she tore off.

Helios: Yup...go figure, although outside he was unaware that I was armed

Terry: Yeah kinda figured that was a bit dumb afterwards, but hey, if you live you learn, and that what I have you guys for, right? To say: Not bad, but do ___ next time.:)

Willy & one or 2 others that asked: Northeast of Cleveland on brder with Lake Co. Thus jurisdictional issue with Sheriff's dept. But as Warrior I stated, this crap happens everywhere anymore
 
Like others have said do not discount the beagle. My wife and I used to live over a church in Riverside California. One night the alarm in the church went off (happened all the time) And I grabbed the keys and the dog (a beagle mix) and went down to shut off the alarm again. As I usually did I sent the dog in first and she would go down the hall and around the corner and come back. This night however she started barking and growling. As I had peeked around the corner she had a parent of one of the kids in the youth group pinned against the wall.

The front door was not closed and he simply came to get his kid. This dog is now 16 years old and deaf but if she know there is a problem she will still be in the fight.
 
As for the dog - no doubts about her whatsoever anymore. Sent a loose pit packing yesterday when it ran up on us out in the backyard. Had to stop her from swallowing the part of its ear she tore off.
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Awesome! Beagles are the best dogs ever. They will do anything for, or to be with, their people.

Stressfire, I hope you enjoy your beagle as much as we have ours. I will warn you the most accurate prediction I have ever heard was when my wife and I were walking our puppy on the hike and bike trail. A gruff older guy walked past, turned to us and said, "He'll steal your heart!"

MarineCorpsAT, I'll confess to getting a bit misty when I think back to our dogs when they reached that age and condition. They gave so much to us that we couldn't repay. On a lighter side note, the beagle nose never stops. On his "last trip" to the vet, one of the beagles was snuffling for M&Ms our daughter dropped in the minivan.

Tom
 
Get a good small flashlight. Surefire if you can or even an Energizer at Walmart ($15 works great). If you light him up in the shadows it sends an I'm prepared message without brandishing or saying a word.

Cell phone is also a must. Tie the dog's leash to a fence and free up both hands. If he wants to make a move do it where you've not lead him home or are in a bad spot.

In the end you lived to learn, that's what counts.
 
A little off-topic, but if it should ever come to "flap-shoe" claiming that you brandished a shotgun at him, demonstrating that you "brandished" only a ringtone lowers his credibility that much more.

When I heard signs of lock tampering, I think I would have just banged on the frame of the door with my fist as hard as I could. (Obviously, this is adrenaline talking.) I know that if I am trying to be stealthy, an authoritative, unexpected noise so close to my head is a bit unsettling. I know this is tactically unsound and practically unwise, but viscerally satisfying.

Looking through the window from the side of the door OPPOSITE the doorknob was a sound move. You are about three feet away from him and just barely in his peripheral vision while he is focused on the lock. Even if he was armed, his hands are occupied. Getting a good look at his face would be strategically a VERY GOOD idea if it did not involve significant risk.

If you had his face, the local police might be inclined to put some effort into connecting a name to the incident.

If you spot him around your neighborhood in the future, you will be better prepared if you already know where the legal dividing line between vigilantism and vigilance is. Likewise, the legal definition of "stalking" vs permissible activites.

He knows where you live, what your dog looks like, what you look like. Do what you can to level the field of battle.

Be aware, where there is one, there are likely more. Don't get blindsided by another danger while protecting yourself against this one.

Alerting your neighbors is not only tactically, strategically and legally REALLY good and wise, it also enhances their safety. Good citizenship.

Does your neighborhood have a Community Council or the like? Does your city have a program like Neighborhood Watch? Mine does, and the police department even has a sort of "ride along" program. If your city council or or city executive (Mayor or City Manager) does not have an outreach (preventative) program for the police and fire departments, these are good things to suggest, especially around election time.

I know at your (probable) age you don't have a lot of time to devote to such preparations, but if many individuals share the load, it is possible to make a neighborhood much safer. Local police take a much kinder view of organized groups acting in cooperation with police (like the very reputable Neighborhood Watch model) than individuals acting on their own. Some departments even share their communications systems.

Good luck,

Lost Sheep

p.s. I agree on the flashlight. I have a "tactical" flashlight that puts out a LOT more than your best standard flashlight. Enough to disorient a stalker/assailant and with a grip designed to be used in conjunction with a two-handed hold on a handgun.

But the best "standard" flashlight that is also a sub-lethal weapon which also is classed as not being any more of a weapon than your average doggie pooper-scooper (which might be pretty good if it is full) is a 4 to 6 cell Mag-lite. The ones using "D" cells are substantial clubs, but the ones using "C" cells are handier batons.
 
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Kinda surprised this thread came back, to update:

What does you wife (you alluded to a father-in-law) think about your fiance?
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Hah, force of habit, she and I use the wife/fiance terms interchangeably, what can I say, she likes to be called wife:) And we might as well be married already, we act like an old married couple:rolleyes:

Anyhoo, after a bit of daylight observation, I did discover that the "gentleman" either lives or stays a few houses down the street. Was driving to work one day and saw him out on the front porch with about a dozen other residents - still not sure what the story is there, but assuming they all live there. "Crack house" might not be too far off the mark - but meth is much more popular in this area of the state.

I'm calling it a win, it did encourage the lil woman to cave and at least learn how to use the guns I have around and loaded on a regular basis, went shooting together the past couple weekends - and my baby cut the center out with the .45 and cut the sticks down with the loaner Maverick.
 
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