The Good Guys Won

I had quite a bit of excitement here Friday afternoon.

I had just come downstairs from taking a nap when the front doorbell rang and then several hard knocks on it.  I looked out and didn't recognize the car.  Stupidly I opened the door a crack to see a younger man standing on the steps with no shirt on.  He asked if they could camp behind my house.  No, it's private property.  Then he wanted to know if they could camp behind the house next door.  That's not my property.  I can't give permission to do that.  A guy driving the car in the driveway, also shirtless, leaned over and yelled out if the house next door was for rent.  No.  He then said they were going to see if anyone else would let them camp behind their house.

I watched as they pulled out of my driveway, and noted it was a dark gray sedan with no license tags.  They turned towards town.  I thought about it a minute and decided to call the police department in my little town.  The dispatcher took the info and said she would get it out to her patrol vehicles.

About five minutes later there was another knock at the door.  This time there was a patrol car in the driveway.  The officer asked me for a description of the men, their vehicle, and what they said.  Another patrol car pulled in, and the first officer repeated everything I said to the second officer.  That officer left to go look for the vehicle.  The officer told me that I had done right by calling the police, and to always call if I feel something isn't right.  I wondered all night if these guys were found, and, frankly, didn't sleep very well.

This morning, the police officer came by to give me an update.  He said shortly after he left the car was seen, followed, and it was trying to evade the police.  They were able to get it hemmed in and approached the vehicle with guns drawn.  The two men in the car were high on meth, and had a shotgun on the seat between them with a round in the chamber.  They were arrested for a lot of things and are now in jail.  One is out on parole and will be returning to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.  The other one also had a record.

Wow.

He again emphasized that I should always call the police if I see something unusual or if I am uncomfortable with anyone who comes on my property.  He gave me some good safety tips, one of which was to get a recording of a ferocious sounding dog that will bark and growl when the doorbell rings.  (He said this after he caught a glimpse of Penny who was hiding behind the door!)  And I am never never never to open the door unless it's a relative or someone I love.  I thought that was funny.  Certainly eliminates the pizza delivery guy!

Anyway, this could have been a bad situation had these guys pushed their way into my home, or if they had pulled that gun on the police officers when they were stopped.  It's too scary to even think about that.

A huge thank you to the police force for their quick response and especially for following up with me.  The good guys won!