This just happened to me

[fattycakes]

Myself, my Fiance and our 2 daughters left the House at 12pm. We got back at 3pm to find that someone had jimmied our door open. We have so far found that nothing is missing. We called the cops, they sent an officer but since nothing was missing and there was only minor damage to the door there was no police report. I alert my neighbors as to what happened.

The neighborhood watch has been meeting about every 3 weeks and I am active in it. There has been a spate of robberies in my town and a month ago a man was killed 2 streets down because he came home to a robbery in progress http://www.santafenewmexican.com/burglary-homicide-investigation. There was another man murdered about a week ago 2 streets the other way http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2546168.shtml. So I am abit freaked out.

2 hours after we got home my wife and my 2 daughters go out again to run a few errands. They take the family car and leave her work car just as we had done earlier when the house was broken into. So im sitting on my computer right now and I hear a car pull up, it is 6:38 pm and the sun is starting to go down. They do not pull into the driveway but are in front of the house on the street. I look out the window and see a truck with a camper shell and 2 scraggly looking men get out. they open my gate and come to my door. I have my beretta 92 out and I grab it and head to the door.

I open the door. I have a security door that is steel and has a heavy duty screen on it that is locked. They can see me though the door but I can see them better.


Me "Whats up, what do you guys want?" [Loud Forcefull voice]
At this point I have my weapon in my hand pointing towards the floor, I chamber a round right after I say this and keep it pointed at the floor in my right hand.
Them "Hey, is Randy here?"
Me "Nope,"
Them "ok thanks,"

They leave.

After Im thinking, maybe I should have kept my gun out of view and not put the emphasis on it. I was ready to shoot if I needed to but I feel like chambering a round was not the right thing to do. I guess I was trying to say to them "Im ready, you wanna rob me Im going to give you a reason not to."

I am not sure if these are the same guys who broke into my house. I dont think they are because they were sort of the hippie type, and they knew the name of of my step father who did live here 10 years before. Also the neighbors roof mounted camera caught a black coupe here at about 1pm. No truck on the camera the time we were gone. I knew this before hand. However as the guys were coming up to my house, all I could think was, "here these fuckers are, thinking no one is home."

So if those had been the guys now they know there is a gun in the house to steal. Like I said I don't think those were the guys after thinking about it. I am on edge though.
I tried to think back to military training and from that I know I should have kept my gun in my holster, but im not wearing one right now.

I guess I learned not to overreact, I had my gun, if they tried to get in I could have dealt with them. There was no escalation of violence so I definitely didn't handle that right. On top of that I think I scared my step dads friends.

[Skummdogg]

You acted as I would have, save chambering a round. I would have chambered a round when I got up from the computer and kept the gun out of sight. That is if my pistol wasn't already in condition 1. Security cameras may be a smart purchase for you considering the break ins/shootings in the area.

Your neighbors camera didn't catch the people that jimmied the door? Or just their car? Hopefully they were just some old friends of your step father and you just gave them a little scare. Could have been luck they guessed a name you recognize.

It is strange that your home was broken into and nothing was taken. I don't know what to think of that.

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[fattycakes]

Yea, I have no idea what to think about it. Nothing taken, all I can think of is someone scared them away or my decrepit dog actually did her job when she realized someone was doing harm to my house, she was in the yard when this happened, friendliest dog ever. The neighbors camera only captures a small part of the street, mainly set on his front yard, but the emphasis was on a black car. Im just on edge right now, Im angry, scared, feeling violated.

[Ryder358]

I'll second that. Very odd nothing was taken. Anything at least roughed up? Maybe they got interrupted right after entering and high tailed it.

[Skummdogg]

I would be on edge too. I've never had my home broken into, but have had my pickup truck broken into. Maybe ill write a thread on that. I can only imagine the feelings your going through. I hope everything works out for you.

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[TacAir]

Time to get busy!

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=58410&hilit=door+armor

[txKingfisher]

In my unsolicited opinion.......
I think the changes are pretty good that you overreacted a bit. (DISCLAIMER: I BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE "OVERREACTED" IN THE EXACT SAME WAY) I'm not in any way saying you shouldn't have reacted the way you did. If they were actually some old friends of Step Dad then they got an honest answer to the question they asked. If they had other motives, then the got an honest answer to the question they were feeling you out for but didn't ask. (Is this a good house to rob?) Either way, at the end of the day, you and your family and your property are safe and you broke no laws or did anything drastic.

I personally keep my home defense weapons loaded at all times. I would never rack one into the chamber to send a message. The only messages I send with those tools come at a couple thousand feet per second and are delivered to high center of mass. Also I would have to be majorly on edge to ever let them see a weapon without having the intention to immediately use it.

+ONE to the idea of you needing some security cameras of your own.


TLDR Version: You did just fine. I would have done the same or VERY similar.

[Tetra Grammaton Cleric]

I think you did just fine too but to play devil's advocate could you have been accused of brandishing or something like that by presenting your pistol/chambering a round? I would hope that's not the case as that would suck but obviously I'm not familiar with NM law.

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[lokifz1]

Unless a randy has recently lived there they were going to steal you blind.

The randy thing or have you seen my lost dog are some of the things burglars say to homeowners who surprise them.

Should have called 911 before talking to them and definately after hopefully with a license plate number.

[katieann]

No police report bothers me, seems like it would fall under criminal trespass if nothing else. Maybe the first break-in was a scouting mission and they sent a truck back to get your big stuff? Who knows. The Randy line sounds like such BS, I think you reacted just fine though.

[jare-3]

Only thing I'd have done different was have the round chambered already. Lots of seedy folks moving into my neighborhood and I'm quite positive they are armed as well. The difference is that the crackheads up the street use their kids as a recon tool. Amazingly they come knocking to ask if they can play with my dog, it also explains why their father is always trying to befriend her and the mother almost pooped twinkies the day she walked up on us (we were out on Zombie Patrol) after being dropped of at the corner she was picked up at 10 minutes prior and the dog stuck her nose straight in her purse...HMMM.

Be aware of your surroundings, if it doesn't look like it belongs it probably doesn't. I know my (immediate) neighbors and who belongs where. The crackheads live at the corner and rarely venture down my way anymore. I caught them during the second break in attempt and they tried the same shit. They were actually trying doors when I got to them. "Wrong house man...I'm sorry." That was after the dog and I made them poop themselves. The fecal factor of a large GSD and Mossberg 500 have been known to do that.

No Police Report? In PA that would have been at the least trespassing. More than likely Burglary. That would have involved a Police Report...if the Staties showed up. I learned the key is NOT to say nothing was taken over the phone. Last time, I said "I don't know if anything is missing, I have to check my gun safe". 30 minutes later 2 Troopers showed up (that's fast for them). They were pissed that they had to drive out, but they took a report nonetheless. For the second try, I had the Staties and my community (at the time) security take reports and got "Good for you" from both. Of course they were long gone by the time the cops showed up, but it made me feel better. You may also consider an alarm (electonic or 4 legged).

[thesupremeking]

bet those guys made sure mapquest got the address for "randy" correct after that.

[JesterODX]

I dont think you over reacted. I would have acted differently but its the differnece in personalities. I would have got my gun and then watched from inside to see what they were doing. But then again, I havent been in this situation so I can only assume how I would react.

And yes, if these were the bad guys, they know there is a gun inside they can steal, but they also learned there is a man there with that gun. The lesson they learned is, they can not be sure if the armed man wont be inside even if the house looks unoccupied.

[Regular Guy]

Hmmmm, I don't know anyone at all named Randy. I'm not even aware of anyone named Randy. Those were the cats that jimmied your door, why come to your house? You should have got their plate. Not that I would have thought to get the plate but they were returning to get the stuff they scoped out earlier. These guys are not pros, they are druggie losers looking for quick cash. They will not be back. They'll go back to robbing money out of grandma's purse.

[Sheriff McClelland]

Unless a randy has recently lived there they were going to steal you blind.

The randy thing or have you seen my lost dog are some of the things burglars say to homeowners who surprise them.

Should have called 911 before talking to them and definately after hopefully with a license plate number.

Agree .

Also agree with others . Chamber the round before confrontation , keep gun hidden (maybe behind your back) but still in hand ?

[RedneckReverend]

Dude! You don't keep a round chambered? I always carried cocked and locked until I got my DAO.

Yes, chambering the round in front of them may have been a bit much but here's my take.
I wouldn't have gone to the door. My instinct as I read your post was to wait as if no one was home and see if they tried to break in.
Even if the knocked I would have waited until they were walking back to the truck to answer. Thant way you know for sure what they intended.

[dukman]

I wouldn't have gone to the door. My instinct as I read your post was to wait as if no one was home and see if they tried to break in.
Even if the knocked I would have waited until they were walking back to the truck to answer. That way you know for sure what they intended.

Yup, I wouldn't have answered the door. I would have just waited back in the shadows to see how it unfolded.

Now is time to look at upgrading your security. Flood lights? Better locks? Prickly plants outside of windows?

[pyzik]

Hmm, I don't think I would have handled that quite the same...

I would have waited to see what they were going to do, not opened the door before them knocking. If they did knock I would wait a bit to answer and just continue to watch. Ready to dial 911.
I always have my M&P in holster @ about 4-5 o'clock. If I did answer the door I would have kept the gun OUT of view.
Also, if they didn't knock and just continued to walk around I would have called the police and watched them without being seen.

And keep a round in the chamber for pete's sake...

ETA: I know it's easy to sit back and MMQB and much more difficult when it's going down.

[DarkandShiny]

I'm a father like you and I completely understand your anxiety and distress over the situation. Like others have stated I believe you acted appropriately (mostly). I can't say if I would have chambered a round or not. The stress of the situation does funny things to our behavior. I hope I would have had the presence of mind to call the police and get a plate number.

Keep an eye out for those jokers and the vehicle they are driving. Call the police and let them know of their suspicious behavior.

Your involvement in the neighborhood watch is commendable, keep it up as it appears you have a real crime problem in your area.

Thanks for sharing and good luck.

[MasterMaker]

http://trailcam.com/default.aspx

Perfect for providing unquestionable proof, can take video as well as pictures, some come without a flash or with night vision, and many will email you/send pictures and video to your cellphone as things are happening.

Just put them somewhere secure, and turn them on when you leave the house or when you are answering the door.

[dogbane]

Related:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/0 ... -shot.html

[ais4122]

I believe if you had pretended not to be home, that they would of attempted to gain entry via a rear door or window. I also believe whenever the police are called, there is some sort of report. That does not mean there is an activity investigation per se. Hippies commit burglaries too.

[tedbeau]

I'll second that. Very odd nothing was taken. Anything at least roughed up? Maybe they got interrupted right after entering and high tailed it.

This is what I was thinking. Most likley the dog made enough fuss, or a car drove by as they were jimming the door open. I would very much suspect that these two were indeed the two that opened the door the first time. As far as the black sedan, either that was someone else, perhaps a jehovah's witness that scared the perps away the first time, or perhaps the perps M.O. is to use a nicer less suspicious car to case houses/ gain entry then come back with the beater truck to haul away the goods once they find no one home and the door is open.

Only thing I find fault with is not having the gun in condition one to start with. You were perfectly within your rights to have the gun drawn when you answered the door. Your house, your 2nd amendment rights, even in Chicago and DC now if I'm not mistaken!

The is Randy home ploy is standard operating procedure, the fac that there used to be a Randy that lived there is just a coincidence. Ask your self this, does your father in law normally have friends that by your description are "scruffy" looking? How old were these two compared to your father in law? Could they be former classmates of his? Co-workers? Probably not.

Edited for another thought: The fact that they did not freak out when you chambered a round in front of them, they never even said. "Whoa, hang on we don't want any trouble" or anything like that makes me assume they have been in dicey situations before. Your average man on the street that has a gun displayed and chambered is going to start babbling like an idiot, not calmly ignore the gun and ask for their friend, their going to say something to tell you they don't want to get shot. It sounds like these two probably open their door armed all the time!

[Tater Raider]

Edited for another thought: The fact that they did not freak out when you chambered a round in front of them, they never even said. "Whoa, hang on we don't want any trouble" or anything like that makes me assume they have been in dicey situations before. Your average man on the street that has a gun displayed and chambered is going to start babbling like an idiot, not calmly ignore the gun and ask for their friend, their going to say something to tell you they don't want to get shot. It sounds like these two probably open their door armed all the time!

I'm inclinded to agree here. Next time dial 911, turn the ear volume to it's lowest setting, and then set the phone somewhere so it can pick up the convo maybe?

Otherwise I'd do exactly as you did with whatever weaon I had handy, firearm or something else.