IanB
Regular Member
imported post
I was on my cellphone with my mom this afternoon and decided to go outside to smoke a cigarette as she's long winded and our chats can last up to 2-3 hours (I don't get to speak to her very often so our calls are long). After the smoke was over, I went back inside but didn't lock the front door as I was planning to smoke another after a snack/lunch. I remained in the downstairs level fixing and eating lunch during the phone call with my mom. At this time I noticed a Hispanic male standing on my porch. He was dressed in a "thuggish" manner (doo rag on head, black leather Harley jacket, combat boots, and what I would describe as "prison tattoos" on his hands (Jacket covered most of his upper body) I've seen programs on TV about tattoos and his had spiders and spider webs which have some meaning in prison but I can't recall what.) He did not see me; he had his back to the window and was on a cellphone. While you might think this was strange, I have Hispanic neighbors next door and there is a constant flow of "residents" living there. At times they have been seen on our property (while on a cellphone as well) and I assume they just want to make a phone call in privacy as their house is packed with people all the time (That's gotta be a code violation). I already had my Sig on my hip (carry it all day every day unless I'm at work) so I sat down in the living room to continue my phone call and eat my lunch where I could keep an eye on the front porch. 15 minutes later (he was on my porch the whole time talking on his cellphone) the Hispanic man opens my front door and walks right in! I immediately unholster my Sig (gotta love Serpa Holsters!) and point it at his feet and in a loud voice say "WTF are you doing? Do you live here?" I'm 10 feet from him and there is a couch between us. He freezes in his tracks and looks like he's about to faint! He stutters a bit and says that he is here "looking for Jason". He has a business card in his hand which he holds up in front of him and he says "I come for Jason at this address, he tell me to come over and say to walk inside". I tell him to toss the card my way and he does. The card is indeed legit, it's professionally made and has the correct address on it for an in-home business with the same house number as my own but different street names (We've dealt with lost folks looking for this "in-home" business in the past, the street they are looking for is 75 feet away from my front door which leads to the confusion.) I quickly realize the guy is telling to truth and has the wrong address (happens frequently here). I walk over to him to hand him the card back while keeping the Sig at ready (mistake or not, he is an intruder in my house as I see it). He could barely accept the card from me he was shaking so bad. I explain he's made a mistake and is at the wrong address and he apologizes and turns around to leave. I went to the door and told him which way to drive for the address while holstering my weapon. The whole time my mom has been hearing this on her end of the cell phone and she's hysterical when I get back on with her. After calming her down and ending our call I went over what went right and what went wrong.
Wrong:
I left the front door unlocked after my smoke (won't happen again!)
I didn't call the police to tell them I drew down on someone in my house in case he called in the incident (I'm sure he was an illegal so he wasn't going to do that)
Right:
I saw him on my property prior to entry and was aware of his presence
He was not aware of my presence until he opened the door
I was armed and ready to deal with the situation
I was able to understand his mistake rather quickly and stand down
To further clarify, I live in a townhome, the public sidewalk out front is the same slab of concrete as my front porch. Only 2 concrete steps separate my porch from the sidewalk. That is why seeing strange people out front is not uncommon.
Keep your doors locked at all times!!!
I was on my cellphone with my mom this afternoon and decided to go outside to smoke a cigarette as she's long winded and our chats can last up to 2-3 hours (I don't get to speak to her very often so our calls are long). After the smoke was over, I went back inside but didn't lock the front door as I was planning to smoke another after a snack/lunch. I remained in the downstairs level fixing and eating lunch during the phone call with my mom. At this time I noticed a Hispanic male standing on my porch. He was dressed in a "thuggish" manner (doo rag on head, black leather Harley jacket, combat boots, and what I would describe as "prison tattoos" on his hands (Jacket covered most of his upper body) I've seen programs on TV about tattoos and his had spiders and spider webs which have some meaning in prison but I can't recall what.) He did not see me; he had his back to the window and was on a cellphone. While you might think this was strange, I have Hispanic neighbors next door and there is a constant flow of "residents" living there. At times they have been seen on our property (while on a cellphone as well) and I assume they just want to make a phone call in privacy as their house is packed with people all the time (That's gotta be a code violation). I already had my Sig on my hip (carry it all day every day unless I'm at work) so I sat down in the living room to continue my phone call and eat my lunch where I could keep an eye on the front porch. 15 minutes later (he was on my porch the whole time talking on his cellphone) the Hispanic man opens my front door and walks right in! I immediately unholster my Sig (gotta love Serpa Holsters!) and point it at his feet and in a loud voice say "WTF are you doing? Do you live here?" I'm 10 feet from him and there is a couch between us. He freezes in his tracks and looks like he's about to faint! He stutters a bit and says that he is here "looking for Jason". He has a business card in his hand which he holds up in front of him and he says "I come for Jason at this address, he tell me to come over and say to walk inside". I tell him to toss the card my way and he does. The card is indeed legit, it's professionally made and has the correct address on it for an in-home business with the same house number as my own but different street names (We've dealt with lost folks looking for this "in-home" business in the past, the street they are looking for is 75 feet away from my front door which leads to the confusion.) I quickly realize the guy is telling to truth and has the wrong address (happens frequently here). I walk over to him to hand him the card back while keeping the Sig at ready (mistake or not, he is an intruder in my house as I see it). He could barely accept the card from me he was shaking so bad. I explain he's made a mistake and is at the wrong address and he apologizes and turns around to leave. I went to the door and told him which way to drive for the address while holstering my weapon. The whole time my mom has been hearing this on her end of the cell phone and she's hysterical when I get back on with her. After calming her down and ending our call I went over what went right and what went wrong.
Wrong:
I left the front door unlocked after my smoke (won't happen again!)
I didn't call the police to tell them I drew down on someone in my house in case he called in the incident (I'm sure he was an illegal so he wasn't going to do that)
Right:
I saw him on my property prior to entry and was aware of his presence
He was not aware of my presence until he opened the door
I was armed and ready to deal with the situation
I was able to understand his mistake rather quickly and stand down
To further clarify, I live in a townhome, the public sidewalk out front is the same slab of concrete as my front porch. Only 2 concrete steps separate my porch from the sidewalk. That is why seeing strange people out front is not uncommon.
Keep your doors locked at all times!!!