Last week at church a couple shared their story of a different home invasion robbery. A “normal” home invasion robbery, the robbers knock on the door and as soon as the door is opened they rush through. This one was different.
The couple was selling puppies on Craig’s List and had one left. A guy called them and wanted to see the last puppy that night because he wanted to buy it for his girl friend but was leaving town the next day. Even though it was late, he wanted to come over that night. The couple are night people so they said yes. The guy showed up with a male friend.
They played with the puppy for about an hour. The original guy was on his phone the entire time taking pictures and texting his girl friend. He finally said he wants the dog and was going out to get the money from his van.
The guy returned with a 9mm pistol and pushed the couple and their adult bulldogs into the bathroom and spent about 5 minutes ransacking the house taking anything of value. They took all their computers, phones, and even the puppy.
The robbers left without hurting anyone. The homeowner worked for an ambulance company and used his radio in his vehicle outside to call for help. His wife went to the neighbor’s house and had to wake them up to get some help.
A bunch of cops showed up, someone from his ambulance company, and lots of onlookers. Fortunately the not-so-bright criminals were caught an hour later sitting in a parking lot in their van. When the cop drove by to investigate the van, both criminals ducked trying to avoid being seen. The cop made an easy arrest, and the couple got all their stuff back including the puppy.
The couple’s biggest suggestion was to write some phone numbers down. Once their computers and phones where gone, they didn’t have the number of friends to call. A couple of their friends found out and went to their house a little later and helped them calm down and deal with everything. The couple said having friends there made a huge improvement to the situation.
Here are a couple things we can learn from this experience. Don’t let people in the house you don’t know. Meet them at a busy parking lot with friends, or outside on the lawn. Use their experience to help you if anything happens. Write down phone numbers so you can call friends to help. Friends can calm you down and help you deal with police and/or media.
Stay Safe,
Ben
P.S. Apparently their bulldogs don’t make good guard dogs.