Car Burglary in Process
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:06 pm
I work in downtown Plano. As of September 2007 I have carry one of my pistols to work on most days. It is concealed in the car and when I get to work, I take the gun in the office with me so it doesn't get stolen. The boss prefers that I'm armed anyway since I sometimes work late hours.
One morning I was pulling into work and I noticed a strange looking individual perched over a stomach-high railing standing and looking directly at one of my co-worker's car. I immediately felt something was not right. As I leave my vehicle, about 20-30 yards away from the individual, my gun is concealed under my shirt as I prepare to make my way to the office. I make immediate eye-contact with the guy and deliberately walk across the parking lot try my hardest to see if anyone is in his car. I knew someone was in there, but could not confirm it visually. I kept making my way towards the office, maintaining eye-contact all the way until he was at my 9 o'clock; he reciprocated. Since I wasn't 100% certain something criminal was going on, I planned to make it to the office ( another 30 yards ), and take another look out the window once I was in.
As i got in the office, I looked out the window again. Sure enough, the lookout was now with another guy about 10 yards away from the car dividing things among themselves as they readied to take off on bicycles. Then the second guy walks back to the car and starts digging through it as if he was looking for more stuff. THAT'S IT!!
I shout out what's going on to my co-worker and my boss. They take off out the front door and I immediately take off out the back ( sans pistol, as I do not have my CHL yet ). As soon as my boss and co-worker made it out the front door, the burglars jumped on their bikes and started taking off. By the time I was outside, 911 was on the phone and I was doing my best to describe their method and direction of travel as well as the burglars physical description. My co-worker and boss take off in a truck to see if they can find/catch them but the burglars cut through a park. The Plano Police station is literally across the street from our office, and their response time was almost instant.
About 6-7 cop cars came out for this particular incident, CSI was called for fingerprinting, and because of my description and my boss' visual identification, one of the burglars was caught. Unfortunately all of my co-worker's belongings were not retrieved. The bowling ball ( yes, that was the first thing these idiots dropped ) among a few other items were recovered.
My biggest "What If" was, what should I have done if I knew the burglars were burglars as I was walking to the office. I do not have my CHL yet, and I would not have shot them over stealing some replaceable property. My first instinct was to be a good witness, but I'll admit, drawing down on them and holding them for the cops did cross my mind if I would have seen what they were up to ( not that I would have done it ).
Another after-thought I had was the fact that I didn't even think that they might have had guns and shot at me as I chased them on foot. Looking back, chasing them, although I was a ways away, was probably not the smartest idea.
What would you have done if you would have been in that situation?
One morning I was pulling into work and I noticed a strange looking individual perched over a stomach-high railing standing and looking directly at one of my co-worker's car. I immediately felt something was not right. As I leave my vehicle, about 20-30 yards away from the individual, my gun is concealed under my shirt as I prepare to make my way to the office. I make immediate eye-contact with the guy and deliberately walk across the parking lot try my hardest to see if anyone is in his car. I knew someone was in there, but could not confirm it visually. I kept making my way towards the office, maintaining eye-contact all the way until he was at my 9 o'clock; he reciprocated. Since I wasn't 100% certain something criminal was going on, I planned to make it to the office ( another 30 yards ), and take another look out the window once I was in.
As i got in the office, I looked out the window again. Sure enough, the lookout was now with another guy about 10 yards away from the car dividing things among themselves as they readied to take off on bicycles. Then the second guy walks back to the car and starts digging through it as if he was looking for more stuff. THAT'S IT!!
I shout out what's going on to my co-worker and my boss. They take off out the front door and I immediately take off out the back ( sans pistol, as I do not have my CHL yet ). As soon as my boss and co-worker made it out the front door, the burglars jumped on their bikes and started taking off. By the time I was outside, 911 was on the phone and I was doing my best to describe their method and direction of travel as well as the burglars physical description. My co-worker and boss take off in a truck to see if they can find/catch them but the burglars cut through a park. The Plano Police station is literally across the street from our office, and their response time was almost instant.
About 6-7 cop cars came out for this particular incident, CSI was called for fingerprinting, and because of my description and my boss' visual identification, one of the burglars was caught. Unfortunately all of my co-worker's belongings were not retrieved. The bowling ball ( yes, that was the first thing these idiots dropped ) among a few other items were recovered.
My biggest "What If" was, what should I have done if I knew the burglars were burglars as I was walking to the office. I do not have my CHL yet, and I would not have shot them over stealing some replaceable property. My first instinct was to be a good witness, but I'll admit, drawing down on them and holding them for the cops did cross my mind if I would have seen what they were up to ( not that I would have done it ).
Another after-thought I had was the fact that I didn't even think that they might have had guns and shot at me as I chased them on foot. Looking back, chasing them, although I was a ways away, was probably not the smartest idea.
What would you have done if you would have been in that situation?
made burglary of a motor vehicle a misdemeanor, so it is not grounds for a citizen arrest. Neither is theft during daylight hours a justification for the use of deadly force. Holding two people is risky for anyone.
