Almost caught the bad guys today, ( after I invited them over for coffee)

[fastfredracing]

Heck, I had pizza with an ex con on Thursday , why not.
I swear , I am not making this stuff up , this is exactly how it happened.
Back to work at rental house this am. Nearly done, and have a bunch of people coming to view it today. Get there at about 7:30 am, start unloading trucks, and taking tools in. We right away notice that our side entrance has been breached. We had it screwed shut with 4 3'' deck screws, and one dead bolt. They just forced it open, and broke all the wood trim. The good news, is, there was zero damage other than this. There is no more copper plumbing in the house, and when we left before the holidays, we took everything with us. They stole nothing, and vandalized nothing. We walked the perimeter of the house looking for fresh prints in the snow, and there are none, but we notice that the vacant house down the street ( remember the one we found the sawed off shotgun in?) had all of its siding stolen. We call the police, just to file a report, and let them know of the activity
So we work the whole day away, show the place and have a few promising tenants look at it. We had a few little things to do at one of out other houses around the corner, and we wanted to get it done before dinner time ( tenant occupied) , so at about 3:30 we run up there, all three of us take our own trucks . We come back at about 4:45 and I don't know why but I park at the bottom of the street where I never park ( in front of the abandoned house with the sawed of gat in it) . As Kenny ( our 21 year old lackey) and Me are walking up the stairs I hear banging in the empty house. I start to head back the alley to see what is going on, and I hear a loud creak. I am thinking the place is caving in on me, then I hear a voice that says " get the fvk out of here" I am startled, and I see him peeking out the partially opened door. I instantly back track, and tell him, that I am not a robber, I started saying that I was the landlord two houses up, and that we were hit last week, and I heard the noises and wanted to investigate. He then told me that they were gutting for the landlord and again" get the fvk out of here" Big ugly white guy , stereotypical trashy Pittsburgh Northside type guy, of course , with a Steelers hat on. I am now backtracking , kind of scared , and I tell him, "seriously, I own the place two houses up, and was just looking out for the nieghborhood, when you guys are done come on up and have a coffee with us ". We later laughed about this.
But I only get about 5 steps back towards our house when I wonder, " if they are gutting for the landlord, where are their work trucks/cars?" It kind of dawned on me, at that instant, that they were the bad guys, and most likely the same pricks who were in our house this week. I grab my big pry bar, and my cell phone, and dialed 911, and sat on my porch watching the place while waiting for the police to show up . I never saw them leave, but it is heavily wooded on the back side , and in a valley.
Two squad cars , and four officers are there within minutes , and they go in and search, but they guys are already gone. The police said that they had all of the cast iron radiators piled up on the first floor, and had all the iron, and wood railings removed, and piled up. The place was so blown out, that even the officers would not go into the basement, and uppermost floors
Exciting day, I was really hoping they police would come out with a few guys in cuffs, but no such luck. I am sure that after I invited them over for coffee, they knew they had been had, and made a run for it.
I promise I am not making this stuff up, just another day in the life of FastFred.

[Rick Lee]

Is there a way I can auto-subscribe to every thread you start?

[fred cook]

Seriously, if you don't already have a carry permit, get one and start packing heat! That guy got a good look at you and you told him where you would be. A crowbar is good, but a Colt or S&W is better!

[Rick Lee]

I used to do a lot of landscaping and house gutting in Pittsburgh about 20 yrs. ago. I had my CCW then and my boss ALWAYS had random guns laying around in his various work trucks. I never knew what I was going to find in the glovebox when I went to the garage. There were a few jobs in Wilkinsburg where I was glad to have some extra protection.

[azasadny]

Yep, start carrying and protect yourself!!

[Tobra]

Fred you need to keep a .38 in your back pocket, or maybe a shotgun in your toolbox, and take your toolbox with you everywhere.

[MotoSook]

Now they know you are the landlord a couple houses down.....

[red-beard]

Now is the time for "Friends with Rifles".

[pwd72s]

Are you sure being a landlord is worth the risk?

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Are you sure being a landlord is worth the risk?

Was thinking the same thing...

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Are you sure being a landlord is worth the risk?

Not positive , but it sure can keep you on your toes. This stuff goes on every where, not just in the city. It just happened down the street from my home about a month ago. Neighbors have summer home here, and winter home in Fla. Came home to find all of their copper plumbing stolen. This is out in the country, in a nice area.
I don't really care if they steal scrap metal from abandoned houses , but they came into MY house, and now it is personal. I sort of wish that I was carrying, and this would have went down different, but what am I gonna do, shoot a guy for stealing metal? ( does have a nice ring to it though) I am not going to bs. you guys though. I was scared, so was Kenny, and we quickly backtracked out of there. The guy had the element of surprise on us, and we are standing in a blown out creepy alley near an abandoned house, with debris everywhere. it was just an akward place to be.
I always thought these crimes took place at night, but now that I have ran into this, I bet they walk in, and do all the work during daylight hours, and then come back at night to pick up their booty. I am going to keep a closer eye out from now on. I am now the neighborhood crime watch nazi. I consider this "my hood" This is the only abandoned house left on the block, I am sure it will get torn down within the next year, we have been dropping complaints randomly for months now, and the officers stated that they will reccomend demolition in their report.
I will admit to get intensely pissed while sitting waiting for the police, and I remember telling my partner, and Kenny that we should go over there and fvk. these guys up. I don't carry, but my partner does.

[Rick V]

I hate to say this but with the bad guys knowing who you are, and the cops showing up you may have just invited more trouble than you want. Like others have said, start carrying. Remember a wheel gun has no safety, and a decocker allows you to carry one in the pipe with no tension on the main spring.
Glad I left the big city years ago (and the surrounding areas. )

[wreckersteve]

Knowing the level of low lifes around here, they will be watching out for you. If they see your truck, they will be gone. They want money for drugs, not trouble. Have delt with a few over time. Sort of like cockroaches when the lights come on. They can be brave at first then run when they see the chance. But I would be packing. Oh wait, I already am.

[fastfredracing]

So , the plot thickens. I have not worked on the rentals since January now. A few weeks ago, I cruised through the neighborhood. There is a bunch of development going on right down the street, and I wanted to see the progress. As I was rolling up the street past our house, I say the guy who told me to " get the fvk out" We both made eye contact, and I am sure it was the same guy , and you could tell , that he was surprised to see me. He was sitting on the front porch right next to our house.
This morning , I get to the house at 7:30 am, and sure as sheet, he is sitting right on the front porch next to our house, having a smoke. The friggen thieves are my next door neighbors. As soon as he saw me, he darted into the house, and I watched out for him all day, but never saw anyone again. He is a big ugly SOB, but he broke into my house. I would like to stick a hammer in his forehead, but I have to play this cool.

[Bill Douglas]

Maybe have a talk with him and say lets be friends and don't worry I'm not going to the police. And by the way if I find you at my place I'll shoot you and bury you in the back yard. Then slap him on the back and say don't worry I was only joking about shooting you. But hold his gaze a little longer than you normally would.

[Baz]

I hate scum bags. Especially when they're big and ugly!

I think you spooked him Fred....just keep the upper hand on the turkey and you'll be OK. Geeeez.......

[ODDJOB UNO]

oh i think its time to SET A TRAP! a big GIANT RAT TRAP!

set up some video cams various places.


grab a bunch of copper from somewhere, wait til this crook is around. just think the "sting" here.............. let HIM WATCH YOU take the copper in one door...........and then out the back into a waiting vehicle if possible. or just leave it there.



and sit back with a cold one, and a hoagie, and watch the fireworks.



be armed this time, have receipts and cell phone with plate numbers, and you should solve the problem very quickly.



people that think their "special" and i swear to gawd these dum azz'z ALWAYS take the bait, never fail to amaze me. i pulled something similar where these idiots thought i had left my property. we had had some words over some other crap(long story), i left my property one way and came back on another road where they couldnt see me. ditched car at neighbors, snuck into house, left lights off and sure as poo they pulled some crap thinking i wasnt there. man they liked to have poo'd themselves when they found out i was there.............ARMED!



see from the psych standpoint these types of individuals really really do "think" they are" special" and are smarter than you/ me and the law(they think their einstein). once you ID these personalities, the possibilities are endless to feek with their heads.

[Reg]

oh i think its time to SET A TRAP! a big GIANT RAT TRAP!

set up some video cams various places.

a la Charles Bronson in Death Wish. hehehe
But remember this guy is your neighbor and there is tomorrow to deal with, unless you are sure you can put him away for a long time.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Move the fk out of there before you end up dead.

I ain't kidding. You're having too many close calls. Sooner or later you're going to not be so lucky and get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time... Sell the crap and move someplace less scary. I'd have already done it in your situation, I don't care what attachments I had to the place...

[fastfredracing]

Porsche o Phile, at this point in my life, this is the only excitement I get. Gotta drive to the ghetto to get a little action in my life. I am somewhat street smart, and have a strong sense of self preservation, so I think I am good. The rentals are not in a "bad area", but it the bad area is not far away.
For what it is worth, My shop, and my home are in a nice quiet community out in the country about 25 miles north of the city, and this same bs goes on here. Low life scrap metal thieves are pretty well ingrained into our society. Vacant houses are goldmines for these bottom feeders. I cannot let anything metal sit outside the shop, or it will not be there in the morning.