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Just had an attempted break-in. Your run-ins with criminals?

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Posts

  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    KalTorak wrote: »
    I wonder why no one's sicced 4chan on these telemarketers - if anyone can track them down and make their lives/businesses hell, it's those psychotic internet vigilantes.
    I would not be surprised if the robocallers were 4chan

    TL DR on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    KalTorak wrote: »
    I wonder why no one's sicced 4chan on these telemarketers - if anyone can track them down and make their lives/businesses hell, it's those psychotic internet vigilantes.
    I would not be surprised if the robocallers were 4chan

    <- mind blown

    KalTorak on
  • DeadfallDeadfall I don't think you realize just how rich he is. In fact, I should put on a monocle.Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    KalTorak wrote: »
    I wonder why no one's sicced 4chan on these telemarketers - if anyone can track them down and make their lives/businesses hell, it's those psychotic internet vigilantes.

    Yeah but that would involve, you know, going to 4chan.

    Deadfall on
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  • Romero ZombieRomero Zombie Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I'm a cop so I have plenty of run ins with criminals. But only one I have ever really had while I wasn't working was when I was on my way home from work. It was about 1:00 am or so and I see these two kids tagging a wall in my neighborhood. It's my neighborhood and I prefer not to have graffiti all over the place so I get out of my car and chase the little bastards and stop them.

    Call the local pd and they come and bust them and get their dope they had on em.

    I didn't read the whole thread, but the first couple of pages mentioned Wal-Marts loss prevention. I don't work the area in my city where there is a Wal-Mart, but their loss prevention catches everyone. We get sent down there at minimum five times a day for shoplifters. They are the only place I know of who will chase a guy down and tackle them.

    Any other place, especially gas stations couldn't give a fuck. I remember going to one and the guy even told the cashier he was going to steal the beer and for her just to call the cops. It blows my mind how much money they must lose on beer runs alone.

    Romero Zombie on
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  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Need to go back to old school stores where everything was behind the counter and you had to have the store guy get it for you.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    bowen wrote: »
    Need to go back to old school stores where everything was behind the counter and you had to have the store guy get it for you.
    Yeah, it's like that in the hood around here. For some reason corporate thinks that stores in the burbs either don't have shoplifters or will lose business if people can't impulse grab stuff. I once worked at a 24-hour Shell that had a policy of firing employees who tried to make customers pre-pay for gas. Also fired them for getting too many gas & go's. Or a myriad of other stupid shit that did nothing to stop the rampant employee theft.

    All the regulars would smoke pot and drink on the clock, especially in third shift. When my buddy got hired there, they fired him for using the register's VOID button too many times, which I didn't even know was a policy.

    TL DR on
  • mystikspyralmystikspyral Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    My brother witnessed this, he was baked and he really wanted to buy some cookies. I wish I had been there. I guess the guy ran in and pushed over the chubby girl in the cookie suit before he grabbed the cash box... the mental image is tragic and yet entertaining in a "If I saw it in a movie" sort of way.

    There are some 17 year old kids in this town that will do ANYTHING for Oxy money...

    http://juneauempire.com/stories/031009/loc_407480444.shtml

    mystikspyral on
    "When life gives you lemons, just say 'Fuck the lemons,' and bail" :rotate:
  • Richard_DastardlyRichard_Dastardly Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    When I was about 17 or 18 I was casually dating (ie; in love with minus reciprocation) my friend's sister. One day we're walking around the mall and spend the day browsing Tower Records, Spencers, watching her try on clothes, etc.

    Later, we're in my car driving home and she just starts pulling all types of shit from her pockets and purse. I mean, cds, cheap jewelry, hair dye... she's even wearing a stolen shirt and pants under her clothes. Holy shit...

    10 years of marriage and I still can't take her out shopping.

    Richard_Dastardly on
  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    My brother witnessed this, he was baked and he really wanted to buy some cookies. I wish I had been there. I guess the guy ran in and pushed over the chubby girl in the cookie suit before he grabbed the cash box... the mental image is tragic and yet entertaining in a "If I saw it in a movie" sort of way.

    There are some 17 year old kids in this town that will do ANYTHING for Oxy money...

    http://juneauempire.com/stories/031009/loc_407480444.shtml
    Sometimes in situations like that, karma is instantaneous.

    http://www.redorbit.com/news/oddities/25091/man_hit_by_car_after_swiping_donation_pot/

    matt has a problem on
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  • ThomamelasThomamelas Only one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    So my job requires me to interact with a number of police departments. And one of the college police departments we work with sent us an amusing video that was recorded by our system. It takes place in the campus bookstore. Guy tries to shoplift and gets taken down by campus police who happened to be there. There's a struggle on the ground and they call for backup. Backup arrives and now you have three guys struggling with the guy on the ground. Then the new rookie shows up and breaks out his can of mace and sprays the guy. And his fellow cops on the ground. The look of horror on his face when he realizes what he did was priceless.

    Thomamelas on
  • mg78mg78 Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Yeoface wrote: »
    The cops came in under 5 minutes with an ambulance luckily and no harm was done, but now I'm on an adrenaline high and was wondering what other kind of run-ins you guys have had to deal with.


    Wah nothing serious so far, thank god - only some jerks stealing my bike, but they made a run for the hills pretty quickly.

    mg78 on
  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Dunadan019 wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    I've been called about the fact the warranty on my car is about to expire. I don't own a car.

    First they pissed off the people. Then they pissed off the internet. That wasn't enough, so they started robo-calling government officials, like congressmen and AGs.

    they call the unimportant ones too...

    i get a call atleast once a day from different numbers.

    they even leave messages on my voicemail....

    Did I mention they're calling my cell phone, and my mother's cell phone?

    Thank god. I've been getting these calls 4-5 times a week.

    Good news. http://lifehacker.com/5256029/ftc-finally-cracks-down-on-car+warranty-phone-spammers

    Delzhand on
  • EmanonEmanon __BANNED USERS regular
    edited May 2009
    I'm a continuous victim of stolen identity. I get a call from credit card company once every year or two that someone is using my credit number to make purchases. Happened again this week.

    I also had my identity used by my own brother so he can get out of a speeding ticket. When he was pulled over he just gave the cop my social security number, name and such and said he left his license at home. He never told me or took care of it and I lost my license for a month. He ended up in jail for a few days for it. This happened almost 10 years ago and we're on ok terms now.

    Emanon on
    Treats Animals Right!
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Delzhand wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Dunadan019 wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    I've been called about the fact the warranty on my car is about to expire. I don't own a car.

    First they pissed off the people. Then they pissed off the internet. That wasn't enough, so they started robo-calling government officials, like congressmen and AGs.

    they call the unimportant ones too...

    i get a call atleast once a day from different numbers.

    they even leave messages on my voicemail....

    Did I mention they're calling my cell phone, and my mother's cell phone?

    Thank god. I've been getting these calls 4-5 times a week.

    Good news. http://lifehacker.com/5256029/ftc-finally-cracks-down-on-car+warranty-phone-spammers

    Better news.

    Shadowfire on
    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Eh. I'm not interested in being a dick to people. Nobody works telemarketing unless they really need cash. I'm happy that the company doing it is getting hit.

    Delzhand on
  • RakeethRakeeth Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Dunadan019 wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    I've been called about the fact the warranty on my car is about to expire. I don't own a car.

    First they pissed off the people. Then they pissed off the internet. That wasn't enough, so they started robo-calling government officials, like congressmen and AGs.

    they call the unimportant ones too...

    i get a call atleast once a day from different numbers.

    they even leave messages on my voicemail....

    Did I mention they're calling my cell phone, and my mother's cell phone?

    Oh man I get those calls on my cell and work phones every month. Hopefully this means that should be stopping soon.

    As for my run-ins:

    -Once while I was five my house got robbed and my entire family got roused out of their beds by the robbers while they stole shit. It was very traumatizing I'm told because I apparently slept though the whole thing. As a result of this incident, every time we leave at night and don't leave anyone home, we leave all the lights on to "trick" robbers into believing that someone is still home. It doesn't really make sense and it wastes electricity but it makes my parents feel safer.

    -I got mugged while walking to the subway station from school. It was a bit scary since this was in the Bronx and I was a one of those nerdy kids going to a science high school. A group of kids from a local high school started following me as soon as I left my high school. About 5 minutes later when I was almost at the subway station, they were right behind me and grabbed my book bag. Immediately after that, two cops came out and grabbed them. Apparently they were watching the whole time and were waiting for the kids to do something they would arrest them for.

    Anyhow I spent the rest of day in a police station and a bunch of hours at a court house. If I knew that I could've opted out of the whole experience at the time I probably would've.

    -Once while I was working the register as a teenager at a chain drugstore a pregnant woman tried to steal a bunch of boxes of baby formula at the bottom of her stroller. Just goes to show that anybody can be a thief.
    Then I hear one of the guys ask my cousin for the time, in a blatantly fake nice tone, which I know means nothing but trouble.

    -This reminds me about one of my cousins, who's a total douchebag. We were walking home from junior high school and we saw this skinny first year walking alone ahead of us. My cousin walked alongside of the kid and asked him for a dollar in that exact tone of voice. I was mortified but didn't say anything because I was a total coward.

    Rakeeth on
  • cloudeaglecloudeagle Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I've told this one before.

    A friend of mine was working at Hastings (neat books/CDs/movies/video game place) one night when he saw a large large LARGE woman (300 lbs. plus) in a mumu leaving the store while walking rapidly and jiggling all over the place.

    Minutes later, they discovered she had opened up three PS2 boxes, removed the systems, and shoved them down her mumu.

    This happened before the slim version of the PS2 came out, mind you.

    cloudeagle on
    Switch: 3947-4890-9293
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    In undergrad, I lived for a couple years in a fraternity house. Not in a terribly shady area, but college neighborhood, lots of parties and so forth, and there was a fair amount of lowend theft, vandalism and other property crime.

    Although the house itself was very secure, the property it was on was not, so we constantly had addicts and all manner of other transients wandering through. There was a creek in the back and nothing to steal or anything so I'm not sure where they were going, but every week or so we had to run one of them off. Sometimes they'd try to break in, but breaking into a house full of men in their early 20s who are up at all hours and frequently intoxicated isn't the best idea, and most of them got that pretty quickly.

    This one time, three or four dudes broke in through a recessed basement window (its bars were loose.) It was about 10 PM, so everyone was still very much awake, and we didn't really think much of the fact that there were people in the basement (it was finished, and it was a sometime hangout.) Until eventually, someone brought up the fact that no one knew who the fuck was down there.

    So we go down there, probably like 10 or 12 of us, and these four random guys are sitting in a common room, on the floor, drinking cheap 40s. One of them said something to the effect of "heeeeey, you guys partyin?" And we said something to the effect of "get the fuck out before we stomp you." They didn't even do any damage. Weirdest break-in ever.

    Aside from that, there was a little convenience store down the block that I swear got robbed five or six times a week. I mean, you'd be in there, and a guy would just walk in, grab a 24 of pabst or something, and run out. I saw that happen more than once. I have no idea how they stayed in business. I guess the guy who owned it was the owner of five or six such stores around town, and all the clerks were college students or people that age who were completely uninvested, so that's just sort of how the place operated.

    Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
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  • HearthjawHearthjaw Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I've had a few run ins with not so nice people.

    Once when I was about 5-6 or so a woman tried to steal the family car out of the garage which is
    in the back yard with a drive way that runs along the house to the front into the street.
    This driveway however is really narrow.
    The would be car thief was unfortunately high as a kite and miscalculated and crashed into a brick wall.
    The cops were called and they took her away. Inside the car was found all of the washing that had been hanging on the washing line
    and in the garage she'd left a used syringe and a massive poo.
    She wasn't in the greatest state of mind.

    About 4 years ago I was walking to the train station when I got surrounded by about 6-7 teenagers who called themselves the
    'Portuguese Mafia' they took my shitty 5 year old phone and $15 of change. They missed my debit card thank christ or that would
    have been a hell of a lot of hassle. It was also lucky that I was listening to an old chunky FM Cassette player and not my ipod. T
    hey looked at it like they couldn't quite figure it out and gave it back.

    About 6 months ago I was walking home from the train station after work at about 10:30 at night, got home and it was a total non-event.
    4 Days later 2 detectives are at the door asking about my movements that night.
    Turned out a woman was assaulted walking home from the exact same train as me, by a guy from the same train.
    The only person she could remember from the train ( out of a good 20 people who got off at that stop) was a guy with a red/black backpack and a blue jumper,
    exactly what I had on me that night.
    I went to the cop station and gave a statement, thankfully it became pretty clear to them early on that I hadn't assaulted anyone,
    as the woman actually didn't get a great look at the guy who assaulted her. Unfortunately it had been about 4 days ago and the sum total of help
    I could give was diddly squat.

    And finally last Good friday some dipshit stole my bike from the hospital car park I had it chained up at while I was at work. It was a decent chain I used,
    the security guy reckoned that it would have taken a good 45minutes to get the bike out, unfortunately being a public holiday
    the car park would have been undisturbed for at least 2 hours or more.

    Hearthjaw on
    steamid: sewersider
  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Hearthjaw what the hell is your sig doing to the h-scroll

    TL DR on
  • mynameisguidomynameisguido Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    My auto mechanic back where I'm from was one of the most honest guys I've ever met. Unfotunately, while he was working on some minor problem in my car, it got broken into and my radio got stolen. Honest guy that he is, he offered to do the repairs for free as a way of paying me for my trouble.

    I also had many run in with thieves and would-be thieves while working Media at Best Buy. We had one guy hit us for like 12 games at a time because he was smart about it. A couple that hit us for 10 games wasn't as smart. They were "looking" at games for 4 hours off and on and then immediately afterwards we found a bunch of games missing. The dumb thing was that they came back----I recognized them, and we caught the girl red-handed with about 5 games.

    We also had this incident where this lady who looked like she was messed up on something really badly came in and started throwing all sorts of shit into her cart. I think she was just so obvious that she realized that people were watching her, complained loudly about being watched and left.

    mynameisguido on
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  • Edith UpwardsEdith Upwards Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Ma had her medals, certificatin and VA paperwork stolen from her storage.

    I am tempted by it's highly flammable nature and proximity to a gas station.

    Edith Upwards on
  • SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Spoilered for wall.
    My mom's ex finally got called out for being a [raging] alcoholic, due to the fact that he'd ordered a 6 pack of beer at this resort on Lanai at 8 in the morning, despite having been asked not to the previous night because it was $36. For those familiar with Maui geography, she owns a house in both Haiku and Hana. She had to go out to Hana for a few days to deal with general maintenance of the property, which meant I was in the small downstairs apartment with nobody else in the house. I get a call the night after she was due back from Lanai, asking me to chain the gate on to the property with a different combination than it had been previously. This should've raised a red flag immediately, or at least a yellow one, as she sounded both out of breath and agitated. I'm also asked to stay upstairs in the main house for the night, which does raise a flag. I ask what's up, and apparently an intervention with the alchie had gone bad, so he'd taken off after some vague threats and vandalism. I figured I'd bring up my computer and TV, as my mom relies on her laptop for entertainment when she's not out and about. Anyway, fast forward about 2 hours, I hear a car come up the small portion of the driveway and the gate being shaken. I'd been told to expect a friend of the family who'd be staying in the upstairs, but that I'd be getting a phone call upon arrival. So, I grab the machete in the garage and put it my mother's closet, as I'd set up camp in the master bedroom. Turns out in the interim of me going downstairs and grabbing it, he'd cut the lock on the gate, broken into my truck, cut my spark plug wires, and planted drugs in my glovebox. To further exacerbate the situation, he told me through the window that he'd called the cops on me and made sure I wasn't going anywhere, before shouting loudly that my smoking habit was gonna land me in prison. Now, I'm as sober as can be, and the smell of tobacco makes me a bit queasy. So, I'm starting to panic after he's gone, and then my TV gets hit with a decent sized rock that had, previously, lined the driveway. So now I'm pissed and call the cops myself. Turned out the dick was bluffing about having called the cops, but he was dumb enough to try to come back to see what kind of damage he'd done to my psyche while I was speaking with the cop at the gate. Turns out the asshole had the source plant on him, was more drunk than anyone I'd ever seen, and a license that was 3 years expired :whistle:

    Oh, and the TV was fine, barring a dent in the plastic.

    Skeith on
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  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Here's mine (it, too, is a wall of text):
    So, I'm on my way home tonight from a friend's place (I'm walking, it's about a five mile walk back, four-and-a-half mile walk there because the park is closed at night), it's about 1:30, and I've had quite a few to drink. I'm coming over the overpass, and there's this guy about 100 feet back behind me. I don't really think anything of it, other than to note that he's there. I'm walking across the street, it's about 1:30 in the morning, and I happen to see what looks like a quarter in the middle of the street. I initially walk past it, stop, take a few steps back, take a look at it, decide "that really looks like a quarter," and pick up the most mangled quarter I've ever seen. In the meantime, this guy has been slowly catching up to me. I finish crossing the street, go to my unlit parking lot, surrounded on three sides by buildings, and on the fourth side by a freeway offramp and the freeway. It's dark. The guy, as it turns out, had followed me. He sees me standing literally right under my bathroom window, and we look right at each other, as I had turned around when I heard footsteps behind me. He starts running at me.

    At this point, being pretty much utterly devoid of any sort of masculine dignity, I begin shouting over and over again "help me! Help me! Heeeeeelp! Help me!" at the top of my lungs (my voice is hoarse right now). He starts beating on me. Swinging fists, punching, saying "gimme your fucking money! Gimme your fucking money!" trying to rip my messenger bag off my soldiers. Given that he's beating on me without really letting up, I couldn't give him my money even if I wanted to (and at this point, I probably would have, given the option). So, we wrestle around a bit, him hitting me, throwing me into a car, me giving maybe half as good as I got, until I get my legs under me and throw him into the wall a couple of times, then shove his head back into it (this particular wall being covered with gravel, I can't imagine it felt good). I continue screaming, we continue fighting until he finally lets go. We look at each other (still screaming; I really kept screaming for a very long time), he bends down to pick up his shoe which he lost in the fight. We look at each other some more, he walks off. Finally, a couple of my upstairs neighbors come downstairs as I'm standing in front of my door. One of them calls 911, I give the operator a pretty good description of the guy. The third time she asks me if I want medical attention, I say "okay, yeah, go ahead and send someone by just to make sure I'm okay," which I figure I should do since the guy hit me in the head a few times. The fire department comes by, checks me out, I tell them I feel fine other than my eye (which you can see) since I got a look at myself in the mirror.

    So, they roll out, I go back inside to wait for the cops. I'm checking myself, cleaning out a scrape on my hand, icing my face/eye, and all of a sudden I just pass out, convulsing a bit (according to my roommate, anyway). I'm only out for a few seconds, but immediately after I do that, the cops show up. They're like "the firefighters let you go like this!?" since I was about five shades paler than my normal hue. The firefighters come back (they're literally two blocks away, so I don't feel too bad), take my blood pressure while I'm giving the cops a description. My blood pressure is pretty fantastically low (something over 80, should be something over 127 at my age, probably higher than that at my weight), they say "you should really go to a hospital." I ask "how much is that going to cost me?" They say "an ambulance ride is $600." I say "in that case, I'm fine." We go back and forth about approximate costs for an emergency room visit, how much I've had to drink, etc., finally I say "I'm gonna stand up, if I can't, I'll go to the hospital" (I've been sitting on the floor this whole time). I stand, almost throw up in the sink, but make it. Get some gatorade in me, I start looking a lot better.

    The cops take a look around outside and find a fucking tire iron. They take some pictures, leave me with a business card and case number, ask me a bunch of questions about what exactly went on. I describe it all to them in detail, including the guy (slightly taller than me, about my size; it's worth noting, I am not a small man). So, I get to find out later whether or not they get any prints off the thing.

    tl;dr: I think I fought off a large man with a tire iron who wanted my money.

    Thanatos on
  • GrisloGrislo Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Atypical encounter with a criminal:
    I saw this old, old lady steal coffee a while back.

    We're in a supermarket kind of place, and in the coffee section they have these 'gind them up yourself and weigh them' beans, which are relatively expensive. Next to these are cheap, pre-packaged coffee. Little old lady grinds up a lot of expensive coffee beans, empties out a bag of the cheapest stuff she can find, puts the good shit in that and walks off to pay.

    I couldn't help myself, so I followed her there just to see what the register dude would say to the blatantly opened bag of coffee. Register dude, of course, spots it right away (and is very likely aware of what it means) and keeps suggesting that she go grab a new bag, since that one is all torn. She very adamantly insists that, no, it's fine! No worries! He let's her pay and leave. Very amusing.

    Maybe I should have said something, but I just didn't feel like it. Theft is theft, but I had somewhere to be, and she was so, so old.

    Typical encounter with a criminal:
    Otherwise, encounters with criminals tend to be along the lines of 'standing around doing nothing, someone walks past and gives you a bit of a shoulder nudge, or kicks your shoe slighty hoping for a response, which will be taken as a provocation, which will lead to a fight' type situations.

    Which I don't understand. If I wanted to punch someone, I would punch them. I don't get that whole game of trying to get some kind of response of out people first.

    I had this exact thing happen once:

    Three guys walk past from behind me. One of them lightly kicks me shoe. I say nothing. Guy turns around after five steps and says, 'You got a problem?'.

    I don't respond, he walks back and faces me and repeats that exact questions. I'm standing there, with my hands in my pockets, and I say, 'No?'

    He repeats his question, I repeat my answer. Rinse and repeat about six or seven times. So silly.

    He finally figures out that I'm not going to take the bait, and he's got two friends standing there looking at him, so he takes a swing, I step back slighty, and he misses. So I'm standing there just looking at him, with my hands in my pockets, and he just does nothing more. He just stands there looking like a lost kid.

    At this point, someone else standing around says, 'Dude, he's got his hands in his pockets and everything, come on.' I had to fight laughing at this point. Wannabe slugger turns to the dastardly interloper and says (say it with me, now), 'You got a problem?'

    Grislo on
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  • HearthjawHearthjaw Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Hearthjaw what the hell is your sig doing to the h-scroll

    Sorry about that, dunno what the fuck happened there.

    Hearthjaw on
    steamid: sewersider
  • FlayFlay Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I've never had my house broken in to or the like, but I've had a few run-ins on the streets.

    For example, when I was younger (somewhere between 10-12) I was walking with my brother from the train station to my dad's place. Normally on these trips I would bring a scooter, because it was faster and, well... Scooters were cool then. This time, only my brother had remembered to bring his scooter; I was stuck on foot.

    Anyway, and though we arrived a bit later than we normally would, me and my brother decide to take the usual shortcut. It wasn't that late, but it was winter, so it was getting dark pretty early. Before long my scooter-borne brethren is far out of sight, and I'm walking alone down some dark back streets. With a backpack that was full of nothing particularly valuable, but was nonetheless bulky. And, being naive, I go on.

    I make it most of the way without incident, until I reach the last (and longest) street. I see a group of somewhere between six and eight guys - not adults, but much older than me - hanging around on the street corner. There's only one way forwards, so I keep going.

    As I pass, one of them calls out to me 'Hey kid, what's your name?' I ignore him and keep walking at my normal pace, but I'm definitely worried. Then, the same voice again: 'Hey kid, I asked WHAT'S YOUR FUCKING NAME?!' Cue panic. I immediately begin running, as fast as possible, with the entire group right on my heels. It's a residential area, but there's nobody in sight, so I run.

    I wasn't a particularly athletic child, and not only are there at least six older males chasing after me, I realise that one of them has got a bike. But by this point I had a bloody bucketload of adrenalin rushing through my system, and I'm running as fast as my puny pre-pubescent body would take me. This combined with the fact that the guy on the bike was on the other side of the street and blocked from getting on to my side by passing traffic, was probably the only thing that saved me. I'm relieved as I make it to the main street, but I don't stop running, and barely do until I'm all the way to my dad's place.

    I assume they wanted to rob me. Maybe they just wanted to intimidate a kid for kicks, I don't know. But to a kid who hasn't even turned 13 yet it was pretty damn scary.

    Flay on
  • SharpyVIISharpyVII Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    My house got broken into about 12 years ago. The guy went through the kitchen window which had accidentally been left open by my mum as she went to work.

    I come home to a police officer taking pictures of the foot print left by the thief and my mum tells me that the guy stole about £200 from her bedroom.

    About a week later, we get a written letter of apology from the guy who broke into our house. The letter also contained all the money that he had taken.

    Turns out that when the alarm went off he grabbed what he could and ran off, a police officer who lived on our street chased him and managed to get his coat which contained his ID. The police officer goes to his address and tells his mum what he has done. His mum is obviously unhappy with what he did so she makes him write us the letter and return all the money!

    SharpyVII on
  • VulpineVulpine Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I got mugged on my birthday.

    I'd been home for the weekend, but my birthday was on the Monday, so I returned back to university on said Monday with a lecture to attend, which went swimmingly. Everything seems fine, so I put my laptop away in its case, and head off home. Note that my laptop had its own case which was, in retrospect, fairly conspicuous. I also had a messenger bag with a few things in it, most notably my mobile phone and the laptop charger.

    As I'm walking home, a couple of teenagers start following me, but I think nothing of it - it's daylight, and although I'm walking through a park with no cars or other people around, I've made the journey plenty of times before. Soon they start asking me questions - do I know when the university closes? Do I have a spare pound? Answering "about 1am" and "no", I head on. Clearly this is the sign of an easy mark. They continue to follow, and I notice with growing dread that firstly, I was alone save for them following me; and that one of them had a large fencepost.

    And so it was that by the time I approached the underpass beneath the motorway they clearly want to part me from my beloved laptop, and I break into a run. This was probably the only fortunate thing that occurred, as it prompted one of them to hurl the fencepost and miss completely; but not being particularly athletic, they soon kicked me to the floor and made off with my bags.

    Shaken up I found a pedestrian and phoned the police, and nothing more was seen of the gits who'd mugged me. However, another member of the public found my messenger bag the next day - completely intact. The idiots never thought to look inside for the charger, so while they parted me from my laptop, they inherited a password-protected, powerless brick.

    (Mr. Insurance replaced my laptop.)

    Vulpine on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2009
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Here's mine (it, too, is a wall of text):
    So, I'm on my way home tonight from a friend's place (I'm walking, it's about a five mile walk back, four-and-a-half mile walk there because the park is closed at night), it's about 1:30, and I've had quite a few to drink. I'm coming over the overpass, and there's this guy about 100 feet back behind me. I don't really think anything of it, other than to note that he's there. I'm walking across the street, it's about 1:30 in the morning, and I happen to see what looks like a quarter in the middle of the street. I initially walk past it, stop, take a few steps back, take a look at it, decide "that really looks like a quarter," and pick up the most mangled quarter I've ever seen. In the meantime, this guy has been slowly catching up to me. I finish crossing the street, go to my unlit parking lot, surrounded on three sides by buildings, and on the fourth side by a freeway offramp and the freeway. It's dark. The guy, as it turns out, had followed me. He sees me standing literally right under my bathroom window, and we look right at each other, as I had turned around when I heard footsteps behind me. He starts running at me.

    At this point, being pretty much utterly devoid of any sort of masculine dignity, I begin shouting over and over again "help me! Help me! Heeeeeelp! Help me!" at the top of my lungs (my voice is hoarse right now). He starts beating on me. Swinging fists, punching, saying "gimme your fucking money! Gimme your fucking money!" trying to rip my messenger bag off my soldiers. Given that he's beating on me without really letting up, I couldn't give him my money even if I wanted to (and at this point, I probably would have, given the option). So, we wrestle around a bit, him hitting me, throwing me into a car, me giving maybe half as good as I got, until I get my legs under me and throw him into the wall a couple of times, then shove his head back into it (this particular wall being covered with gravel, I can't imagine it felt good). I continue screaming, we continue fighting until he finally lets go. We look at each other (still screaming; I really kept screaming for a very long time), he bends down to pick up his shoe which he lost in the fight. We look at each other some more, he walks off. Finally, a couple of my upstairs neighbors come downstairs as I'm standing in front of my door. One of them calls 911, I give the operator a pretty good description of the guy. The third time she asks me if I want medical attention, I say "okay, yeah, go ahead and send someone by just to make sure I'm okay," which I figure I should do since the guy hit me in the head a few times. The fire department comes by, checks me out, I tell them I feel fine other than my eye (which you can see) since I got a look at myself in the mirror.

    So, they roll out, I go back inside to wait for the cops. I'm checking myself, cleaning out a scrape on my hand, icing my face/eye, and all of a sudden I just pass out, convulsing a bit (according to my roommate, anyway). I'm only out for a few seconds, but immediately after I do that, the cops show up. They're like "the firefighters let you go like this!?" since I was about five shades paler than my normal hue. The firefighters come back (they're literally two blocks away, so I don't feel too bad), take my blood pressure while I'm giving the cops a description. My blood pressure is pretty fantastically low (something over 80, should be something over 127 at my age, probably higher than that at my weight), they say "you should really go to a hospital." I ask "how much is that going to cost me?" They say "an ambulance ride is $600." I say "in that case, I'm fine." We go back and forth about approximate costs for an emergency room visit, how much I've had to drink, etc., finally I say "I'm gonna stand up, if I can't, I'll go to the hospital" (I've been sitting on the floor this whole time). I stand, almost throw up in the sink, but make it. Get some gatorade in me, I start looking a lot better.

    The cops take a look around outside and find a fucking tire iron. They take some pictures, leave me with a business card and case number, ask me a bunch of questions about what exactly went on. I describe it all to them in detail, including the guy (slightly taller than me, about my size; it's worth noting, I am not a small man). So, I get to find out later whether or not they get any prints off the thing.

    tl;dr: I think I fought off a large man with a tire iron who wanted my money.

    Jesus man. I'm glad you're okay. Hope they get the bastard.

    Bionic Monkey on
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  • Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2009
    Concussions are nasty things, and you are damned lucky you didn't die Than.

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Concussions are nasty things, and you are damned lucky you didn't die Than.
    Yeah, I'm fully aware. I really don't think it was a concussion; I mean, even when I was talking to them, I was hella lucid, my retinas were responsive, and my head really didn't hurt all that much. If I had been insured, I almost certainly would have gone to the hospital, but honestly, the crippling financial injuries from that really didn't pan out when weighed against the very outside shot that I had a severe concussion.

    Thanatos on
  • AmpixAmpix Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    All these stories are making me a very nervous person. I've never ever had a run-in with criminals (well... more on that later) but reading all these stories ensures that next time I see someone shady following me, I'll make sure to watch my step. Ironically, violence like that pretty much never happens in Holland, so I'm being nervous for no reason.


    So about my non-existent run-ins with criminals...

    When I was young (think 12-13) I used to take guitar lessons. I'd always ride out there on my bike, and then place it on the side of the building where I took my lessons. One time after lessons I went out to the side of the building to find that my bike had disappeared. In tears, I called my dad to come pick me up (I knew he'd be mad, and I knew that it was kind of my fault as I hadn't locked it properly) which he did, and I bought a new bike soon afterwards.

    Flash forward three years. Because of new pricing policies at the place where I took my lessons, I was in my last year with my guitar group. As a sort of final thing we had recorded a CD, and were walking around the building taking all sorts of terrible band-esque pictures. We walked into a secluded porch, belonging to my guitar school and... My bike was there! The same bike, in mint condition (a little rusty, after being outside for three years) just... standing there! I picked it up the same day with my dad, and then sold it for €60, very nice for a three year rusted bike. Even funnier, the bike was insured for theft, and we were refunded for my "stolen" bike, which we actually sold three years later.

    So yeah, my only run-in with "criminals" turned me into one myself: one guilty of insurance fraud :P

    I still don't know what the hell happened that my bike was there. The porch was completely secured, and there was no way some kids could have moved it there as a prank. The only explanation that my teacher could come up with that it might have been in the process of being stolen, and an employee of the guitar school put it in the porch to "protect" it.

    Ampix on
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  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Ampix wrote: »
    All these stories are making me a very nervous person. I've never ever had a run-in with criminals (well... more on that later) but reading all these stories ensures that next time I see someone shady following me, I'll make sure to watch my step. Ironically, violence like that pretty much never happens in Holland, so I'm being nervous for no reason.
    Listen, I've walked around in a lot of major cities with bad reputations late at night while drunk (NYC, Boston, Washington D.C., Rochester, NY, Toronto, ON), and this is the first time anyone has ever messed with me. It's not like this is something that happens every night I go out.

    Hell, I've pretty much come home that late to the same apartment at least once a week (frequently, two or three times a week) for the past... almost two years. This was pretty much an anomaly, and not something that's going to really change my behavior at all. I was pretty aware of what was going on around me, and I know I've got neighbors who will actually come downstairs when they hear someone shouting "help!" (I actually brought them a bottle of wine this morning). So, overall, I walk away with a few bruises, a pretty badass story, and a "lucky" quarter. :P

    Thanatos on
  • Romero ZombieRomero Zombie Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Ampix wrote: »
    All these stories are making me a very nervous person. I've never ever had a run-in with criminals (well... more on that later) but reading all these stories ensures that next time I see someone shady following me, I'll make sure to watch my step. Ironically, violence like that pretty much never happens in Holland, so I'm being nervous for no reason.
    Listen, I've walked around in a lot of major cities with bad reputations late at night while drunk (NYC, Boston, Washington D.C., Rochester, NY, Toronto, ON), and this is the first time anyone has ever messed with me. It's not like this is something that happens every night I go out.

    Hell, I've pretty much come home that late to the same apartment at least once a week (frequently, two or three times a week) for the past... almost two years. This was pretty much an anomaly, and not something that's going to really change my behavior at all. I was pretty aware of what was going on around me, and I know I've got neighbors who will actually come downstairs when they hear someone shouting "help!" (I actually brought them a bottle of wine this morning). So, overall, I walk away with a few bruises, a pretty badass story, and a "lucky" quarter. :P

    You better frame that quarter for all the luck it has brought you :) Hopefully they catch the guy. Not sure what state you live in but he would be looking at multiple felony charges in AZ

    Romero Zombie on
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  • chasmchasm Ill-tempered Texan Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I was sitting in my bedroom at 3am, checking out a car forum when my car alarm started going off. Less than five seconds later, someone tried to open my front door and started beating on it. Somewhat alarmed, I took my Glock with me to answer the door. In between knocks, I opened the door, took a step back, and leveled my gun center-mass at the huge guy (6'7" easy, probably about 350lbs) beating on my door. I just said, "Something I can help you with?" He took off running, jumped into a waiting SUV, and tore ass down the road. I checked my car after killing the alarm and there was nothing wrong with it. I called one of my cop buddies, told him what happened, and he came and took a report. Thanks to me getting the license plate, they caught them later that night, with a bunch of car stereos in their SUV. When my buddy asked if I'd have shot the guy, I replied, "if he'd made a move toward me, sure. It's not like I knew why he was apparently trying to break into my house. I mean, the fucker was literally twice my size. I'm not going to try to fight someone that much bigger than me (5'10" 185)."

    chasm on
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    XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
  • saggiosaggio Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Quite literally, every single house immediately surrounding me, except one, has been or is currently a grow-op.

    It's really no surprise, given that I live in B.C.

    saggio on
    3DS: 0232-9436-6893
  • lonelyahavalonelyahava Call me Ahava ~~She/Her~~ Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I might be heading up to BC soon.

    Sorry, just wanted to share that thing.

    Glad you're alright, Than. sounds pretty damned freaky-outty to me.

    Closest I've been to crime was walking from the campus theatre back to my dorms around 9pm at night in Camden, NJ. When I walked into the lobby to go upstairs, something happened just outback, a screeching vehicle. Not unusual. I get into the elevator, get up to the 8th floor, get out and go to my dorm suite, and that was when all hell broke out outside.

    Apparently in the time it took me to get into the elevator and to my room, somebody was shot on campus and then left to die. In the exact same route I walked home from the theatre.

    Only other thing in my life was my brothers best friend growing up got into our house through the garage door (which was always unlocked), went up to my parent's bedroom and stole the huge pickle jar of loose change and foreign currency and coins collected by my dad. THe took the jar to the coinstar, got what they could for it, and everything that the machine wouldn't take, they put back into the jar and then threw the jar into the local lake.

    lonelyahava on
  • Typhoid MannyTyphoid Manny Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I might be heading up to BC soon.

    Sorry, just wanted to share that thing.

    Glad you're alright, Than. sounds pretty damned freaky-outty to me.

    Closest I've been to crime was walking from the campus theatre back to my dorms around 9pm at night in Camden, NJ. When I walked into the lobby to go upstairs, something happened just outback, a screeching vehicle. Not unusual. I get into the elevator, get up to the 8th floor, get out and go to my dorm suite, and that was when all hell broke out outside.

    Apparently in the time it took me to get into the elevator and to my room, somebody was shot on campus and then left to die. In the exact same route I walked home from the theatre.

    Only other thing in my life was my brothers best friend growing up got into our house through the garage door (which was always unlocked), went up to my parent's bedroom and stole the huge pickle jar of loose change and foreign currency and coins collected by my dad. THe took the jar to the coinstar, got what they could for it, and everything that the machine wouldn't take, they put back into the jar and then threw the jar into the local lake.

    ahh camden. the town so bad that state police won't go in there, and people shoot at firefighters

    Typhoid Manny on
    from each according to his ability, to each according to his need
    hitting hot metal with hammers
  • ElitistbElitistb Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Run-ins I have had. Only 3, really (not counting traffic violations).

    1. I had my car, a 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix, stolen after I parked it before work. The cops actually recovered it before I knew it was stolen, they called me at lunch. Not sure if the guy is still in jail. He came up with some "I thought it was my cousin's car" excuse, but this didn't hold too much water when I pointed out in court that I have a habit of using a paperclip to hold one of my insurance cards above the drivers side window (there was no longer any insulation on the roof), and the paperclip perfectly frames my name. The card was still there when I picked the car up from impound. Also not including the broken side of the steering column, with the bits of it laying in the floorboard. It didn't sway the SWAT in training cop that pulled him over (after his buddy bailed out the passenger side), and it didn't sway the judge. I never got back the knobs to the radio (which was a stock radio, stock 1986...) or my rearview mirror.

    2. After moving to a new house, someone stole a tire from that same car. Fortunately I had a full size spare. Never found that guy.

    3. A bit after 2, someone living in a nearby roach motel decided to break into all the cars on my street, being stopped only at my brother's truck, which had an alarm (he was breaking into the cars by smashing a window). He took off before we got out of the house, dropping some of the stuff he stole (which was all pretty much worthless even in pawn shops). Amusingly, he also dropped something else. His wallet. With photo ID. The cops that responded to that call were crap, though, and we never heard what happened.

    Elitistb on
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