Home Intruder Last Night

[Mister Bisley]

Very well done.

You armed yourself automatically in resonse to being roused out of bed by a disturbance, even though you thought it was just something harmless, a hungry cat. (I learned that by failing to do it once, though fortunately I had time to arm, but just barely.)(An incident I described in the current thread Things that go bump in the night.)

I also agree with your dealing with the situation first and calling 911 later. Talking on a phone is just a distraction from the emergency as well as gives away your position and element of surprise. In addition, emergency operators ask lots of questions, and my understanding is their primary goal is to keep you on the phone, which uses up one hand and your attention. These days they might also do outrageously counterproductive things, like order you to put away the gun when you actually have an invader in your home. Also, once you call LE to some extent you have transferred authority from yourself to them. And you then have the complication that when LE arrives they may shoot anyone who is armed, in or outside the house, and that could be you. My idea of when to call cops is either well before the danger is imminent, if there is opportunity. Or after danger is over and you can safely disarm yourself before LE arrives.

I think trying to get intruder to leave rather than hold him for police was the right call too. It's way easier to get someone to leave than to submit to capture. And there was every reason to figure the intruder might be crazy, drunk, on drugs or some combination. If you had tried to hold intruder instead of chase him off, it would have increased the odds if your having to shoot him. Far better if that must be done, that it's done by LE.

Sounds like this guy had been hanging around the neighborhood for a while. He might be back, since it's clearly familiar turf to him. Obvious you are taking additional appropriate measures.

I say again, well done.

Great insight Carol.

 

[11Charlie]

Damn I think you did a great job. I got to be honest I never grab my pistol when I get up to let the dog out. I will from now on so thank you for posting this up.

Good on you for keeping a level head.

 

[Norwestr55]

Very well done.

You armed yourself automatically in resonse to being roused out of bed by a disturbance, even though you thought it was just something harmless, a hungry cat. (I learned that by failing to do it once, though fortunately I had time to arm, but just barely.)(An incident I described in the current thread Things that go bump in the night.)

I also agree with your dealing with the situation first and calling 911 later. Talking on a phone is just a distraction from the emergency as well as gives away your position and element of surprise. In addition, emergency operators ask lots of questions, and my understanding is their primary goal is to keep you on the phone, which uses up one hand and your attention. These days they might also do outrageously counterproductive things, like order you to put away the gun when you actually have an invader in your home. Also, once you call LE to some extent you have transferred authority from yourself to them. And you then have the complication that when LE arrives they may shoot anyone who is armed, in or outside the house, and that could be you. My idea of when to call cops is either well before the danger is imminent, if there is opportunity. Or after danger is over and you can safely disarm yourself before LE arrives.

I think trying to get intruder to leave rather than hold him for police was the right call too. It's way easier to get someone to leave than to submit to capture. And there was every reason to figure the intruder might be crazy, drunk, on drugs or some combination. If you had tried to hold intruder instead of chase him off, it would have increased the odds if your having to shoot him. Far better if that must be done, that it's done by LE.

Sounds like this guy had been hanging around the neighborhood for a while. He might be back, since it's clearly familiar turf to him. Obvious you are taking additional appropriate measures.

I say again, well done.

It was my thought that if I let him lay there while waiting for the police to arrive that it would given him time to think about it and maybe come up with a "plan'. Which may have included him grabbing a knife from the stove/or pocket or maybe jumping me to try to get the shotgun away. Which either way it went would have been nasty.

Anyway I'm happy to say that other than a couple seconds of disbelief I wasn't scared or panicked and was able to think it through. I was more PO'ed than anything. As I've said before, "us old people are already pissed about being old, don't start anything"!

 

[bbbass]

Housebreakers........


Anyone still think pig-stickers on shotguns are silly?

View attachment 492831

I wouldn't say that to you, even if I thought they were!!

 

[308]

He climbed through the window....it's in the OP

Got it now...thanks

 

[bbbass]

I'm fortunate in that I never have to get up with the dog unless she is barfing. She holds it all night. Me... not so much. However, if I had a cat and it had to pee, I'd definately let it out... that is some baaaaad stuff!

In the last two years I have been increasing the lighting outside, even tho we live in a quiet town with a lower crime rate. That doesn't mean that there aren't druggies, we recently had a task force bust that netted quantities of heroin and meth intended for sale. And where there are druggies, there are break-ins. We have homeless but there are a number of shelters and even a "warming" facility, so we don't see them a lot except for the rasta types and other panhandlers at the walmart. I started putting in lighting when we were leaving for the winter... we don't anymore but I have lights at every entry, peepholes (I wish I had shooting ports), and lights on the corners of the garage, driveway, walkway, and at the two sheds. I'm thinkin the bright lights will keep the night creatures back.

BTW, I was going thru a lot of bulbs, and electricity (2ea 500W per corner), until I started changing them out to coil lights and now LEDs.

 

[Kruel J]

I'm glad you didn't have to ventilate him. Well done.

 

[Tony617]

Definitely would have stuck him at the very least! Funny thing is after I bought the 500 I kept thinking why did I buy this, I've got plenty of pistols and I don't even like shotguns! If he was able to see it, (500-600 lumen light in his face) I'm sure it was more imposing than having a pistol pointed at him. Rd was already chambered so I didn't get to rack the slide.

I have a TLR HL which is the original 600+ lumen on on my shotgun. The newer versions of the TLR HL is 800 lumen now which is even brighter which I do not like. I have a SLP and I always keep one in the chamber. I alway carry a pistol at night or when I get up for anything. I keep an OWB holster on my belt and a light on my pistol so when I am not wearing belt loops, I just tighten it more so I can pull the pistol out without any problems. We have an alarm and so if the alarm goes off I probably will grab my shotgun and I keep gun mufflers on my nightstand as well.

 

[Medic!]

Am I the only guy here thinking I would have handed him his azz?

 

[Kruel J]

Am I the only guy here thinking I would have handed him his azz?

No, but I don't really think I would blast someone while they were sleeping even in my house. My company had a female break into one of our offices, eat some food from the refrigerator and then curl up on the couch and fall asleep using a company jacket as a blanket. She was found there in the morning by the owner, who was armed at the time. He carefully called the police while she slept. They showed up and woke her up with handcuffs. She posed no real threat to the owner, and told the police she was homeless, cold and hungry.

To be honest, I felt sorry for her in a strange way.

Now if the OP had awoken to this dude ransacking the place or whatever, that would be a threat......

 

[Medic!]

I think the OP did a great job.
No need to shoot some skinny stupid kid.

But if it was me? Yes, I would put my hands on him.
If he didn't put up a fight I'd hold him until the police got there.

If he wanted to play roughhouse? Then OK. We do things the hard way.

 

[RVTECH]

Reading this brings back memories of MY situation in April.
Hopefully he got a felony burglary & trespass like the guy who was in my house did.

 

[Joe13]

Not so much a carry thread though I was carrying, but didn't really know where else to put this. Maybe we need a home defense sub.

Stayed up much later than usual last night (birthday and a few B-day drinks) and slept in. The cat woke me up I assumed to feed him, so I pulled my pants on, holstered the 45 and somewhat groggily headed for the bathroom. Walked past the kitchen door and stopped, WTF??!!!??? Theres somebody asleep on the dog bed in the kitchen!!!!

Tall skinny guy probably in his late 20's, jeans, no shirt/shoes, and ankle high socks. After I realized I wasn't dreaming and I didn't know him, I backed up to the bedroom and grabbed the MB 500 loaded with 00 buck. I had my 45 holstered but thought the shotgun was a better option all things considered. Now how to proceed, hold him for the cops or get him outta here? Looking around the kitchen, I see a butcher knife on the stovetop behind him and another on the counter just a couple feet away. I decided to just get him out of the house 1st. Always keep a rd chambered so I turned the light on on the shotgun and hit him in the face with it...

WAKE UP!! WTF DO YOU THINK YOU"RE DOING YOU STUPID SOB? THERES THE FRONT DOOR. I WANT YOU THE F---- OUT OF HERE RIGHT F"ING NOW OR YOU"RE GOING TO GET SHOT! YOU"RE LUCKY I HAVEN"T FILLED YOU FULL OF BUCK SHOT ALREADY YOU DUMBAZZ MF'er!

He went out the door saying "sorry sorry, I know". I grabbed the phone as I was heading that way to see which direction he traveled. Didn't see him so I yelled at the neighbor across the street, "which way did that guy go"? 'What guy?" He must have cut around the corner of the house and headed across the lawns of the vacant houses. Told 911 its not an emergency at the moment but... Described him and told them that he must be cutting thru yards. An officer called back 5 minutes later and said he got him almost immediately after the call came in over on HW99. It turns out my next door neighbor's greenhouses had been vandalized last night and he'd left that call half an hour or so before I'd called. I'd looked around in the meantime and found a dirty footprint on the kitchen chair next to the window so evidently the window hadn't latched when I closed it. Nothing appears to be missing including pills in prescription bottles just a few feet from where he was.

The officer showed up while I was typing this and let me know he was in jail and that he'd done things like this before. Will be up on unlawful entry, trespassing and vandalism charges. I said if he's that brave to come in the house to sleep while I was there, something nasty is going to happen sooner or later, either to him or the occupant and if he'd even twitched in my direction he'd probably be dead right now and I'd have a big mess to clean up. He agreed. Also said I hope he isn't released 1st thing Monday morning. He agreed with that also.

I think he's been sleeping in the neighbors yard for 3-4 days as my dog has been barking every night in that direction. I've also heard noises outside that I'd attributed to cats or possums after looking around with a flashlight. I couldn't find her last night and went out side to look for her and she was standing by the fence in the corner of the yard. The grass was pretty smashed down on the other side. I think he'd gotten her used to him being there and was petting her. Normally she'll wake out of a dead sleep and go nuts if she smells or hears anything out of the ordinary in the area much less inside the house.

Anyway time to buy some motion detector lights and maybe security cameras. And will do a better perimeter check every night before bed. Things could have went much worse, glad this isn't one of those gun free house holds!

Costco has a 4 camera 4K night owl system for $249 till Sept 2nd.

I just installed one in a retail shop. It's pretty straight forward and super detail.

 

[Stomper]

Jacob Wayne Heinz
Criminal trespass 2nd degree
Criminal mischief 3rd degree
Criminal Trespass 1st degree

Also arrested for 2 counts of disorderly conduct in April and Criminal
trespass 2nd degree in May.

The guy is being enabled by an impotent justice system, and people are often too polite/timid to confront vagabonds making a nuisance of themselves, so he has become emboldened knowing nothing serious will happen to him... this kind of thing will get even worse than it is now.

You quoted him as sayin, "Sorry, sorry, I know". Dam skippy he knew he was WAY over the line, but he doesn't care because "the cops won't do nuthin'"..... the only thing he's not considering is we're not the cops and don't give two rubs about his rights in these situations...every once in a while you come across someone you just shouldn't have fraked with.... guess who that is.

 

[Mikej]

Jacob Wayne Heinz
Criminal trespass 2nd degree
Criminal mischief 3rd degree
Criminal Trespass 1st degree

Also arrested for 2 counts of disorderly conduct in April and Criminal
trespass 2nd degree in May.

Sounds like a lost soul. He doesn't seem to care. Sad really. Doesn't seem to be violent. But man. I love the way you woke him up. Totally called for!

"us old people are already pissed about being old, don't start anything"!

True that ^^.

No, but I don't really think I would blast someone while they were sleeping even in my house. My company had a female break into one of our offices, eat some food from the refrigerator and then curl up on the couch and fall asleep using a company jacket as a blanket. She was found there in the morning by the owner, who was armed at the time. He carefully called the police while she slept. They showed up and woke her up with handcuffs. She posed no real threat to the owner, and told the police she was homeless, cold and hungry.

To be honest, I felt sorry for her in a strange way.

Now if the OP had awoken to this dude ransacking the place or whatever, that would be a threat......

This is what I was thinking.

 

[maddog]

OP: Great decisions and execution! Thanks for posting this for us.

 

[bivy53]

Way to stay cool! Glad you are safe.

 

[Norwestr55]

No, but I don't really think I would blast someone while they were sleeping even in my house. My company had a female break into one of our offices, eat some food from the refrigerator and then curl up on the couch and fall asleep using a company jacket as a blanket. She was found there in the morning by the owner, who was armed at the time. He carefully called the police while she slept. They showed up and woke her up with handcuffs. She posed no real threat to the owner, and told the police she was homeless, cold and hungry.

To be honest, I felt sorry for her in a strange way.

Now if the OP had awoken to this dude ransacking the place or whatever, that would be a threat......

Yeah my thought was that at the moment he wasn't a danger to me. Now that could have changed in an instant, and I wouldn't have hesitated to pull the trigger. I think I told him not to even twitch in my direction or I would.

Maybe I should have. I just talked to a local that knows of him and he said he's probably got a rap sheet an inch thick. Has been in the area a long time and was involved in a stabbing 7-8 yrs ago over a drug deal. Other guy got charged for the actual stabbing. I'll be watching for a release date and be watching my back even more so after that.

 

[Lazyfaire]

Yeah my thought was that at the moment he wasn't a danger to me. Now that could have changed in an instant, and I wouldn't have hesitated to pull the trigger. I think I told him not to even twitch in my direction or I would.

Maybe I should have. I just talked to a local that knows of him and he said he's probably got a rap sheet an inch thick. Has been in the area a long time and was involved in a stabbing 7-8 yrs ago over a drug deal. Other guy got charged for the actual stabbing. I'll be watching for a release date and be watching my back even more so after that.

The prosecutor's office should have an ADA who will keep you notified of his status and what happens to him. Ask them

 

[nammac]

I'll be watching for a release date and be watching my back even more so after that.

This is a sad fact of the modern world... we have to be concerned about being victimized by criminals that should be removed from society.

Glad it turned out well, and you've given me many things to think about. Including having the shotty more accessible. As for dropping the hammer on him, not sure I'd want the bio-hazard mess to clean up...