A thief in our midst?

[treble]

I am a fairly security consious person.. no guesses why. It pays to behave normally and outwardly show nothing unusual. I would not stand out in a crowd and I dont stand out in my location.

Today while I was preparing to leave for work, I noticed a guy apparently aimlessly riding his bike around my area. I picked up on this guy because my hunch-ometer was telling me this guy was casing street.

So's I watch this guy for a bit, he has stopped and he is looking away up the street. There was a couple peopel walking together about 50 yards away... kids I think and someone else.

I get in my car to leave and instead I just sit there on the road watching this guy. I make it obvious I am watchin him and I track him as he rides towards me and then turns up the street. I keep watchin then after a bit I just follow this guy... I want to see if he is local or from accross the way... a visitor to my area if you will.

anyway turns out he is living the next block over. Anyway this makes me nervous. My place is less a target than the place next door because it is only exposed on the street frontage. The place next door has 2 streets and has has stuff ripped off from the yard before. Plus their place provides a side avenue to my place. Everything that can be shuttered is but here you can only shutter the moving panel of the window. Any fixed panels can't be shuttered. Rock, whatever and your in.

So I tag this guy... profiled him or what ever... but in the few hours since.. I been thinking.... I like to ponder different points of view... what else could the guy have been doing... there were two kids... I think.. perhaps they were his and he was just doing some discreet Dad surveilance to make sure they were on their way to school ok.... hmmm ... but the way to school is not exactly that way. It would not be the way they would go.... it would be a long cut....

I am pretty good at picking up on stuff thats not right.... its what I do in my job as well....this guys got that easy going scammer attitude happening.. he knew I was staring him down and was like brushing it off.... makes me think some experience is going on there.

I have an active nosy neighborhood which I don't really participate in... I say hi to my neighbor but thats about it....

what would you do? Would you have a word to your neighbor about this guy next time you see them? Would you talk to the more nosey people and get them all suspicious on this guys ass?

interested to hear what you think
treb

 

[bounty29]

I dunno, if your neighbors are nosy it might be wise to turn them onto him, or see what they think. He definitely sounds suspicious, and I'd be wary of somebody like that in my area.

 

[Guest]

Hunchometers can be right and can be totally wrong.

If a crime's committed down your street over the next few days / weeks then you might have your man. If not, then perhaps it was just a dude riding a bike..looking a bit shady? Keep it to yourself for now - unless you want to join the nosey, neighbourhood watch brigade...? That might mean friendly knocks at your door in future - asking you if you saw this or that.

A similar thing happened to me a while back. I was sat in a car with some mates - smoking a joint - just around the corner from my house, when I saw some dude walking up my road, then he walked back, then he came back with a crowbar this time. It was like 2am and he had no idea we were clocking him the whole time. We're all like - I bet something's gonna get robbed or someone's gonna get hurt. Finally we saw him cycling at speed back past us.

Next day my neighbour tells me his bike got stolen from outside the front of the house!
I gave him a description but he never got his bike back.

 

[Guest]

If he only lives a block away He is your neighbor. Maybe he was looking for his dog? Maybe the kids were his and he was wondering why they were taking the long route to school? If you are that concerned ask him. If he were up to no good and he clocked you clocking him playing cop and following him around might get you hurt.

 

[Bravado!]

I'd keep a close eye on him, just until you have your answers. Thats just me though. If something seems off about him, then whats the point in blowing it off like its nothing.

 

[Nikijad4210]

Dunno what to tell you, man, I actually once thought a couple of guys hanging out behind an area gas station were out to cause trouble--late teens, early 20's, black boys decked out in gang gear (sorry to sound racist or anything, but they just didn't belong in that particular neighborhood--it's OLD PEOPLE THERE!)

Come to find out a few weeks later, one was an undercover infiltrating a gang to bust 'um for drugs and weapons. They weren't so much out for trouble as he was out to bust them.

Been seeing more and more people in my immediate neighborhood that don't belong here, either. It's a quiet place, mostly elderly retirees, young Hispanic & white working class families, a handful of black families, some hard-working college kids renting homes......What looks like gangbangers hanging out at the local park just ain't right, man.
No one'll take their kids to the park anymore now.....Granted, the homeless sleep in there at night, but they don't bother anyone, and no one's worried about them, they're worried about the big black dudes in the gang get-ups following them walking through the park...I was followed through the park walking to the grocery store a few times, I carry a knife now when I walk that route (and know how to use it thanks to my hubby's self-defense & weapons tips---he's a martial arts & hand-held weapons expert)

We know there's 2 gangs near-by (hispanic gang and a black gang) having a turf war, and they're both slowly working their way towards our neighborhood. The hispanic gang's symbols are all over the area here, but the black gang members are the ones making physical appearances to mark territory.

Sad thing is, it's a beautiful park, but everyone's scared shitless to go there...This neighborhood's going down the toilet, we can hear gunshots in the distance at night, and once in a while, we hear a gunfight in the immediate area (shortly followed by sirens) I've lived in this neighborhood for 5, almost 6 years now, and in the last 2, it's gone from quiet, peaceful and safe to, "Was that another fucking gunfight??? We just heard shots a few hours ago!"

I HAVE been shot at with a paintball gun, too, about...2 years ago, when my hubby and I were dating. We went out for a walk in the neighborhood, and some fucker drove by spraying paintball shots, grazed my abs. It's a good thing he peeled out of there, my hubby was ready to kill him.....

 

[Ronley]

If he is your neigbour, then go and talk to him.

 

[Guest]

eh. i locked my keys in my car in my parking lot so i had to break into it and my neighbors were looking at me like im a fucking criminal. so i stopped what i was doing and starred at them till they ran inside and turned there lights out. fuckin pussies. you sound like a nosey neighbor. he was probably just annoyed that you were starring at him. how about you mind your own business. get a job and dont worry about it.

 

[Guest]

Next time just let and anonymous tip go and let leo check his ass for warrants.

scammers like that are not welcome anywhere when they are discovered and if they are discovered they already screwed someone over.

 

[Guest]

Cover your grow from any suspicion. But do be sociable to your neighborhood, especially if you are a owner. I'm not a big socialite, but I do wave and say hi to the neighbors.

I'm ever watchful of everyone I see. People whom don't belong and seem to be touring the neighborhood instantly get my attention. I do make myself noticable when they are around, especially if I see them make loops or repasses. Perhaps, I may just be in the yard and will give them a friendly wave hello. All in a friendly neighborly fashion, but I make myself seen and it lets them know in a way - I see them.

A way of doing things nonconfronting, yet lets the possible badguy know someone sees them.

 

[Gangabiss]

Maybe he was just out for a bike ride?

 

[Guest]

eh. i locked my keys in my car in my parking lot so i had to break into it and my neighbors were looking at me like im a fucking criminal. so i stopped what i was doing and starred at them till they ran inside and turned there lights out. fuckin pussies. you sound like a nosey neighbor. he was probably just annoyed that you were starring at him. how about you mind your own business. get a job and dont worry about it.

But if someone WERE stealing your car.....don't you wish a noisy neighbor was watching and called the cops?

Eh you'll probably answer no with some other macho, baddass can kick everyone's ass mentality. But in reality, we need more noisy neighbors reclaiming their streets. Not people whom barricade themselves in their homes, afraid of everyone walking by. That's what allows the bangers to take over the streets.

I watch out for my neighbors, even the dumbass cop a couple houses down. I see someone on their property I've never seen before, I check it out. I hope they do the same for me. I may seem like an ass, but I care about the kids playing outside. The old people and persons alone unable to defend themselves.

 

[Guest]

It's good that you are cautious BUT I think this is why america is going through our state people snitching on each other, more racism being experienced form all races it's just more subtle, and everyone not trusting each other.

I'm a true believer in what you constantly think about with an emotion eventually comes to pass and what most people experience is their fears coming to life just due to the fact that they constantly think about them.

This is why it's important to hang around people who focus on positive thoughts so that the chance of negative things happening is low because when you constantly think negative thoughts you will see things that might not be what you think they are and you will do something that will actually cause problems for you just because of your reaction to something.

The guy could have been going on a nice bike ride to get his thinking together or to smoke a spliff. I used to like going for a walk when I wanted to smoke a spliff and I used to worry about someone thinking that because I'm walking at night that I would want to rob them and they get paranoid and take their reaction too far by either calling the police or staring me down which will leave me thinking they are trying to hurt me or do some harm and I might have to defend myself all because of their reaction to a young man walking and smoking at night time even though he said hi and kept it moving BUT from what treble said because I would say hi and seem peaceful and easy going, I'm a scammer.

I usually try to ignore people staring at me because to me that's a sign you want trouble and I know I don't want it unless it's necessary. You should also be careful with the staring because if something happens I'm sure someone can use that as an excuse for being aggresive towards you especially if their looking for trouble and I've seen it quite a few times.

I know where I'm from if you stare at somebody for more than two seconds you up to something.

I hate when people look at me weird when I'm walking but in this day and age people are just too damn paranoid and there is a difference between paranoid and cautious. It starting to really bother me.

Treble, don't let it bother you to the point you think about it for hours on end because that same time and energy could be used for something more productive.

Just take precautions and enjoy your life. Peace.

 

[naga_sadu]

Today while I was preparing to leave for work, I noticed a guy apparently aimlessly riding his bike around my area.

I've also ridden bikes aimlessly around residential areas that weren't mine, in my 20s. I was only doing it to...enyoy the bike ride in a new scenery? I'm curious- are you worried because you're thinking this guy maybe working undercover as police informant?

So's I watch this guy for a bit, he has stopped and he is looking away up the street. There was a couple peopel walking together about 50 yards away... kids I think and someone else.

A guy on a bike and a couple of ppl walking together 50 yards away? What's so strange about that, I don't follow? Looks like normal suburbia residential neighbourhood life to me. If those people 50 yards away and the guy were emitting an eerie green glow, I'd be concerned tho for SURE!!!!!!

I keep watchin then after a bit I just follow this guy... I want to see if he is local or from accross the way... a visitor to my area if you will.

anyway turns out he is living the next block over. Anyway this makes me nervous. My place is less a target than the place next door because it is only exposed on the street frontage. The place next door has 2 streets and has has stuff ripped off from the yard before.

I'd think that people who want to "survey" an area for potential burgulary would watch from a distance till all the cars in the immediate vicinity of their "targets" leave their parking lots. They'll usually wait at least for an hour or so to see if there's any other commotion from inside the target house or from the nearby homes, I'd think.

I'd think that, the potential burglar would for SURE want to be as discrete as possible when surveying areas to strike in. I mean shit...even those who are doing something something INFINITELY LESS HARDCORE like growing a plant end up taking such discretionary measures. If he wasn't trying to be discrete and just goofing around in a bike, the chances are he's just...goofing around in a bike!

More than anything, a direct approach is the best approach. Since you know where he lives, why don't you just go to where he lives and address your concerns to him directly? Speculations will only fuck you up and make you more paranoid, most times rather unnecessarily.

All my years of living and doing business has taught me that the ones who fuck you up the most and give u hardships are from your inner circle, more than anything else, that too mostly because of a loose tongue (and not out of treachery par se). You should instead, spend time assessing the "tightness" of the tongues of your "inner circle" periodically.

Just my opinion, though....

 

[treble]

thanks everyone... it was a good idea for me to share this... a couple view points not thought of...

we get a lot of people going up and down the street so there is a bit of foot trafic. He isnt a close enough neighbor that I would talk to.

why I thought he was suspicious was just general appearance and he seemed aimless and he just kind of stopped and gazed up the street for a bit. So with out doing any more character assasinations by me, he coulda been upto anything good or bad.

He lives close, it aint a dump... he coulda been watchin his kids... he looks like he might smoke.. actually he looks like he does... could end up being someone I split a spliff with... now wouldn't that be interesting?

reefermadness69 I aint nosy in the least.. most the time I keep to myself, people come and go. they will get my attention if they are good looking but otherwise I leave the watching neighbors to other people in the street. The one thing here is, it is quiet safe clean and close to work. I have been here many years and enjoy it a lot....its an overlooked pocket in our fine city

anyway thanks again.. we will do nothing, be a bit more alert and see what happens

treb

 

[Guest]

maybe he's just a loser and has nothing better to do with his time

 

[Old Man Time]

I say bum rush him and send him to the secret US prison in syria for a little water interogation lmao.[/sarc]



Keep an eye out friend!!! But dont make any assumptions or take any actions prematurly.....otherwise you will only be directing attention at yourself

 

[Artie Lange]

ive seen this creepy character in my neighborhood too. he has a really strange front yard, lots weird artsy contraptions. i have a picture i took a few weeks back when i caught him riding up and down the street aimlessly.be safe

 

[Carini]

i swear artie, do you have the world's biggest collection of random hilarious pictures on your hard drive, or do you have to use google to find a picture for each of your posts? You crack me up on a daily basis, if not more often than that...

 

[sogman]

Heh my friends tell me I look like a clone of PeeWee. I keep my hair short, styled everywhere though not like that mini-horn peewee always liked. C'mon he wanked in a place where ton's of people already were doing the same thing. I wouldn't go in there so do PWH a favor and don't tip the cops everytime you seem him eating popcorn. He paid his admission! LOL

I think Lotty is right on the money, Don't piss people like that off! Don't stare troublesome ppl down. It's like fighting a bully with insult's, the more you waste his time the bolder he will get with you.

These ppl unless they arent doing anything wrong will already fear you quite a bit, I used to live in a nasty area where neighbors houses were getting broken into. Finally in the summer it was too hot so we left a door open for cool air. In less than a week I'd already caught somebody in my own home. I saw him in my laundry room, and I think he knew. As I went upstairs to arm myself I thought about calling the police.

Even though I resented them so much I kept the phone in my hand, talk button on, one number dialed. I decided to call my dad, and as I was leaving a message I could hear the bastard trying to walk slowly up my basement stairway. I could see the back door standing where I was in the kitchen. He came up to the main floor and went straight to the back door in a jog and I never saw him again thankfully.

It was just a skinny white guy with shades on, he looked about as scary as a golden retriever. However if ppl are breaking into your house and your growing at the time, then they have a real reason to pursue this and come back and make ur life more difficult. Plus they have dirt on you!