ACP
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- Joined
- Dec 29, 2002
- Messages
- 1,334
This happened to my best friend Jeff Tuesday evening:
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EAST HAMPTON, Conn. -- An East Hampton man was arrested after police said he tried to throw his girlfriend out of a window and then went on a home-invasion spree. It began at the Chatham Apartments. According to police, Willliam Scott, 36, was trying to toss his live-in girlfriend out of a third-floor window headfirst. According to police, neighbors intervened and Scott bolted, heading down Collie Brook Road. Police said Scott tried to enter a home, but the homeowner did not let him in. Police said Scott then dashed across the street, grabbed several knives and stole a car. Scott sped down Collie Brook Road and onto Middletown Avenue, police said. When he came around a bend he spun out and brought his car to a stop. Police then chased him on foot and arrested him.
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Here's what Jeff just told me:
Everyone is allright, but they are still very shaken. He lives in a small town in eastern Connecticut, married, two small children (5 and 7), a Boxer for a pet dog. No firearms in the house, though he has expressed an interest in the past in a revolver.
He says Tuesday evening between 8 and 8:15 everyone is on the second floor of his two-story home. From downstairs in the kitchen they hear a loud "bang," followed shortly by another loud "bang." The dog races downstairs, followed by Jeff and his wife Darlene.
As they come around the corner from the living room and into the kitchen, there is a stranger standing in the kitchen. The dog is biting the guy's leg, and Darlene calls the dog off (she would later ask Jeff "Why did I call the dog off?")
Darlene says "Who are you? Get out of our house!" "Kill me" the man replies. Jeff says he can tell the guy is one something "pretty heavy." Jeff tells the guy to get out. He repeats his "just kill me" statement. He starts pacing the kitchen floor and repeating "Just kill me." Darlene dials 9-1-1 from the kitchen phone on the wall.
The guy then grabs two kitchen knives off the kitchen counter butcher block and demands money and car keys. Darlene screams into the phone "He's got a knife" and police tell her they are 30 seconds away (they later learned the guy had tried to break into the neighbor's home and that neighbor had already called 9-1-1).
Jeff says he is within arms reach of the man the entire time, but the guy never tries to close the distance. He says his blood pressure really went up when they guy grabbed the knives and became more agitated.
He calmly tells Darlene to go upstairs and get her wallet and car keys. She does. She meets the kids on the stairs, who have heard the commotion, gone downstairs, peeked around the corner and seen the perp. She tells the 5 y.o. to hide in her bedroom closet and the 7 y.o. to lock himself in his bedroom. They do. She gets her wallet and car keys and goes back downstairs.
The perp paws through the wallet -- no cash. He leaves the wallet, takes the keys and goes outside to start Jeff's old Honda in the driveway. He backs down the driveway, across the street, up onto the neighbor's lawn, and the police arrive. The chase is on. The guy only gets a little bit down the road when they somehow stop him and cuff him.
Background: the guy had been smoking crack earlier in the evening. He wanted his girlfriend to write some bad checks so he could cash them for crack money. She wouldn't, so he tried to throw her out a 3rd story apt. window but failed. She called 9-1-1. The police chased him and lost him when he crashed his car, bailed, and ran through my friend's neighborhood.
He first ran across the street, and tried to break into the neighbor's home. That homeowner heard the commotion, barricaded the door, and told his wife to "call 9-1-1 and get my rifle."
The perp then disapperared across the street, rummaged through my friend's minivan and sedan in his driveway, then kicked in his kitchen door with two kicks.
Lessons I take from this:
1. Living "in the country" doesn't make you immune from crime.
2. Have strong doors, doorframes, and locks.
3. Have a dog; don't call him off.
4. Have a handgun (Little old "Blue State" CT is a "shall issue" state); practice with it and learn the local laws on self-defense.
5. Have a partner, like a roommate or a wife, call 9-1-1 and secure the family (if any). If he/she has a secondary weapon, all the better.
Any other suggestions?
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EAST HAMPTON, Conn. -- An East Hampton man was arrested after police said he tried to throw his girlfriend out of a window and then went on a home-invasion spree. It began at the Chatham Apartments. According to police, Willliam Scott, 36, was trying to toss his live-in girlfriend out of a third-floor window headfirst. According to police, neighbors intervened and Scott bolted, heading down Collie Brook Road. Police said Scott tried to enter a home, but the homeowner did not let him in. Police said Scott then dashed across the street, grabbed several knives and stole a car. Scott sped down Collie Brook Road and onto Middletown Avenue, police said. When he came around a bend he spun out and brought his car to a stop. Police then chased him on foot and arrested him.
-------
Here's what Jeff just told me:
Everyone is allright, but they are still very shaken. He lives in a small town in eastern Connecticut, married, two small children (5 and 7), a Boxer for a pet dog. No firearms in the house, though he has expressed an interest in the past in a revolver.
He says Tuesday evening between 8 and 8:15 everyone is on the second floor of his two-story home. From downstairs in the kitchen they hear a loud "bang," followed shortly by another loud "bang." The dog races downstairs, followed by Jeff and his wife Darlene.
As they come around the corner from the living room and into the kitchen, there is a stranger standing in the kitchen. The dog is biting the guy's leg, and Darlene calls the dog off (she would later ask Jeff "Why did I call the dog off?")
Darlene says "Who are you? Get out of our house!" "Kill me" the man replies. Jeff says he can tell the guy is one something "pretty heavy." Jeff tells the guy to get out. He repeats his "just kill me" statement. He starts pacing the kitchen floor and repeating "Just kill me." Darlene dials 9-1-1 from the kitchen phone on the wall.
The guy then grabs two kitchen knives off the kitchen counter butcher block and demands money and car keys. Darlene screams into the phone "He's got a knife" and police tell her they are 30 seconds away (they later learned the guy had tried to break into the neighbor's home and that neighbor had already called 9-1-1).
Jeff says he is within arms reach of the man the entire time, but the guy never tries to close the distance. He says his blood pressure really went up when they guy grabbed the knives and became more agitated.
He calmly tells Darlene to go upstairs and get her wallet and car keys. She does. She meets the kids on the stairs, who have heard the commotion, gone downstairs, peeked around the corner and seen the perp. She tells the 5 y.o. to hide in her bedroom closet and the 7 y.o. to lock himself in his bedroom. They do. She gets her wallet and car keys and goes back downstairs.
The perp paws through the wallet -- no cash. He leaves the wallet, takes the keys and goes outside to start Jeff's old Honda in the driveway. He backs down the driveway, across the street, up onto the neighbor's lawn, and the police arrive. The chase is on. The guy only gets a little bit down the road when they somehow stop him and cuff him.
Background: the guy had been smoking crack earlier in the evening. He wanted his girlfriend to write some bad checks so he could cash them for crack money. She wouldn't, so he tried to throw her out a 3rd story apt. window but failed. She called 9-1-1. The police chased him and lost him when he crashed his car, bailed, and ran through my friend's neighborhood.
He first ran across the street, and tried to break into the neighbor's home. That homeowner heard the commotion, barricaded the door, and told his wife to "call 9-1-1 and get my rifle."
The perp then disapperared across the street, rummaged through my friend's minivan and sedan in his driveway, then kicked in his kitchen door with two kicks.
Lessons I take from this:
1. Living "in the country" doesn't make you immune from crime.
2. Have strong doors, doorframes, and locks.
3. Have a dog; don't call him off.
4. Have a handgun (Little old "Blue State" CT is a "shall issue" state); practice with it and learn the local laws on self-defense.
5. Have a partner, like a roommate or a wife, call 9-1-1 and secure the family (if any). If he/she has a secondary weapon, all the better.
Any other suggestions?