Creep hanging around the house
 

Well to start off I live in a college neighborhood which is about 50% college students. Last week one of our neighbors got their laptop stolen during the middle of the day.
Today we have had two encounters with some strange guy. The first time he came and knocked on our door and asked if the girl who lives here is home. (I have one girl roommate). My roommate who answered the door just said no I do not know who you are talking about, he then left.

About 1 hour later there was a sound at the door and my roommate (the girl) went to see what was going on. Our front door was open and he was standing there again. She got really freaked out, but talked to him for a while and he was making up a story that she told him last Friday to come to this house, but maybe he was at the wrong house.

We talked to our neighbors and they have been having the same thing happen today, but with someone else who was not the same person at our door, so it seems like there are two different people.

We already talked to the cops about it (the cop was very rude and seemed pissed about talking to us). On top of it I took my shotgun home this weekend, so now I don’t have a gun in the house, I will be picking it up again this weekend.

Well I just thought I would share this little story. I've grown up in St. Paul my whole life, so I am use to this sort of thing, but it really freaked my roommate out.

It really is a shame, because I have never felt a little bit afraid of this neighborhood before.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Hope everything turns out alright.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

That really sticks. Especiall since you mentioned St. Paul. What general area of the city is this happening in? I have three guesses and I live in one of them. We had a guy in a van staking out our neighborhood until finally one of our neighbors caught him sleeping in it at 6am and scared the hell out of him. Haven't seen him since. I keep my wife well armed when I am at work. Glad to hear you know your neighbors. Best defence in this area.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

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Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Rack your shotgun slide and see him never come back. Try to look really crazy while you're doing it ;)

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

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Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Invite him in and get him drunk. I'm sure he'll be cool once you get to know him.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Thanks for the reply guys Ill keep you posted on if anything else happens. I don't think anything will I just worry with having a female roomate. The only thing of value I have is my laptop and that doesnt usually leave my sight. I also have some silver coming in the mail, but once I get it, it will also not leave my sight until I get it out of the house.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Typical, that's usually the response I get when I ask one for help also.

Riiiiight.
Back on planet Earth...

Does he live in the neighborhood or is he a vagrant of some sort?

If he doesn't live in the neighborhood, if I were in your situation, I would try and use some sort-of measured show of force. Don't stick a shotgun in his face or anything like that. Get several of your large buddies together, surround him at a distance, and firmly explain to him that he is making your neighbors/girls/selves/whatever uncomfortable, and if he doesn't find somewhere else to roam around, that he might start "feeling uncomfortable" himself.

Make sure he "gets your drift".

I suspect he'll go bother someone else.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

I doubt he's hanging around waiting for the arrival of your silver.

Give him a beer and choot the chit.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Next time, take some pictures of him. Ask your friends about him (have you seen this guy etc)...

Or get him drunk then torture him for information...just kidding. He'll talk when he's drunk.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

His female roomate is already freaked out, I doubt if she wants him on her couch drinking a beer and scratching his balls.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Snapping his pic would be likely to get rid of him if he is casing your block. 'Hey, I'll ask the neighbors if one of them invited you over. Does she know how to reach you?'

Sounds like someone looking for a knock that goes unanswered.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Hope it works out............. this is the stuff that makes my skin crawl.... we need to get back to small town justice.

Back in the day something like this would never happen... the neighborhood itself would have stick together and would have squeezed the guy like a pimple he would have caught the hint and moved on the greener pastures.

But now everybody has to work just to make ends meet and nobody has the time to talk so pricks like this can show up unannouced....and the goon squad is no help.... only AFTER a crime do they do something .....and it more like shuffling papers around that desk..


But I digress.....

Just keep your wits about you and if the prick shows up again send me a PM .... tell him you got family in other states that would be more than happy to through a quick family reunion party together and make him the "guest of honor".



T

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck (no offense to "the duck"). Knocking on doors and then asking for some nameless person is a major red flag. This guy is checking places out for theft / B&E. This is really not good. Flamingly obvious. College students are famous for thinking nothing of random people coming and going, and so are easy prey.

"Last week one of our neighbors got their laptop stolen during the middle of the day."

Duh. Keep doors locked, and deadbolted. Get a peep hole installed in your door low enough for everyone to use, and tell your female roommate to use it.

:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: :banghead:

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

got some creep hanging around my house too

Attachment 41707

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Damn, I almost didn't get that one.....:wink:

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Invite him in, get him drunk, then take him on a road trip to Chicago....making sure he has no wallet or cash for a return trip.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

If she's afraid of him, why would she scratch his balls? :confused_ma:

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

better yet, take pics of the female roomates and post em here.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

get rid of the female roomate, it is probably her pimp/dealer.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

You got to be kidding:confused_ma:.
In this day and age TRUST NO ONE. go by your gut feelings,if he gives you the creeps, believe yourself......maybe have the female roomate pepper spray his @ss....no one would ever charge her.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

To further add to thread degeneration,

I'd say bop him on the head and stick him in the deep freezer for when the SHTF, but that would be illegal so I won't.

:tongue_ma:

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

invite him in for a can of out of date clam chowder, if he lives you know the soup is good, if he gets sick, make sure he is out doors when he hurls, this will give the po lice a chance to collect dna evidence.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Yeah! Rock on!

Assault and battery is a great idea! :confused_ma:

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

There are some good threads on where to hide you stash in your home.

As far as the strange guy lurking about, call for back up and then confront him. Yell at him. don't get your a** kicked, but scare him enough so he is afraid to come back.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Pull up the Got Goldies archives and force him to read it.....that'll teach em....

alternatives
 

I check out whoever knocks on my door through the peephole.

Whenever it's not someone I know or want to meet, I yell "Hello???!!!" through the door, then "what is it?????". If they don't have a good reason for being there, like being someone I know and didn't recognize, then I yell again, "not interested!". If it's someone shady then they got nowhere and I know who they are, and saves time.

By the way it's a good idea to have a flip latch ($1) on all outside doors, as a bump key can open almost most all door locks in a matter of seconds.

Re: alternatives
 

You can get small battery powered alarms for about $9 each that use a magnet and reed switch arrangement to cover vulnerable doors. You can even put them inside a safe.

We have a lot of trespassers and more homeless around here, they are generally just using the place as a thoroughfare, or dumping stuff in the bins, but it is annoying. They are however breaking the law and should be challenged to prevent them doing so in future.

The problem is they think the place is a safe haven for their activities, so presumably perform low-level crimes around the place and use it as an escape route.

I never thought I'd see homeless people in my city, but it's starting to happen, even to some regular folks who's lives are not in order, and it's very sad to see...

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Pretty typical of a drug addict. Desperate losers and opportunist burglars.

I had one guy knocking doors around here one day in broad daylight asking for some money because he needed to "buy some petrol". I said I had a can of petrol, and he could have some, which he declined. At that point I knew the story was bogus and he was just begging money for meth. He started shaking like a leaf, and the guy was in his mid to late 30's. Pretty sad to see.

Another day, some lanky woman with bad hair showed up and tried twisting my doorknob (without knocking first) when I was home. I opened the door which shocked her, and asked her what she was up to. She quickly made her escape.

Some visiting guys from the US a few years ago, both had their laptops swiped from the house they were staying at. It's an affluent area, but also a well known area frequented by addicts and has a methadone clinic

I have learnt that most meth addicts _usually_ (but not always) are
non-violent, but sneaky, cunning individuals that will opportunistically steal anything worth a cent, as long as it's not nailed down. Breaking into cars and houses when the opportunity arises. They will also beg like alcoholics and go door to door in the areas where they score, as they are not great intellectuals, and rarely have a decent plan in mind except to score. Morality doesn't really come into it, they just want to feed a habit. Lie, cheat and steal etc.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Blueice, I've only had problems with St. Paul Police when I've had call them (to report vandalism or theft) or I stop by to get a permit to purchase. Other than that I'm sure they are quite nice.

Also, St. Kates is not near frogtown. It's in Macalester/groveland area bordering Highland Park. Frogtown is north of university and East of Victoria.

Johnlvs2run: What's a flip latch?

Mike77777: That was very very funny. Make sure you report here on the status of the soup!:D

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Maybe you should just be open with the guy on your thoughts. Tell him the concern is that he is unknown, and might be casing the place.

No threats, just clarity. If he is casing the place, you have subtly made it known that you have had a good look at him.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Then dress him up in a KKK outfit and drop him off at 18th and Ashland... :D

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Yes, and if he does come back, have a camera handy and get a picture. Cameras scare the byjeepers out of nodogooders. Do not invite him in, do not try to get him drunk, get the pictures, print them out and pass them around in the hood. Cops usually can't do much with without pictures and threats of some kind. Just because the guy gave the girl the creeps doesn't mean much to a LEO. It's possible (unlikely) some girl in a bar did give him an address and he is just trying to locate her, but it sounds more like he is casing the place to me.

My other thought, if you can get your neighbors to go along with it is, to start a watch group to activate when he shows up again. Make a few calls on the cell, get out and start following the guy, see if he ever comes back then. Don't kidnap the guy and haul him off somewhere, it's a felony if you do. Stay legal.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

If the honest and open approach doesn't work, its not worth playing the game of scare you/scare me.

Baseball bats are pretty quiet.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

flip latch
 

Here's a picture of one.

<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y41/johnlvs2run/fliplatch1a.jpg">

Re: flip latch
 

Where can I buy it?

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Shows your great KNOWLEDGE of criminal law:rofl::hahaha: Halo
at least try a username that reflects something you know a little about.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

Where the heck do you live?
It sounds rough.

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

I've heard Australia has a big meth problems...

Re: flip latch
 

Orchard Supply Hardware has them for $1. Any hardware store should have them.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y41...liplatch1a.jpg

Re: Creep hanging around the house
 

It's actually not that bad, these are relatively isolated incidents over a number of years, not something occuring every week around here.

Australia does have meth problems though, heaps of kids using the stuff, lots of suppliers, and it's often passed of as "ecstacy" when it's nothing of the sort, and actually often made up of the cheaper amphetamine.

I'm sure there are some much nastier places, (and some nicer ones) but I don't live there. Where I live is not a normal suburban idyllic existence, it's more of a touristy place like Florida Beach. The cops are few and far between, which is also ok, doesn't feel like a police state either.