Interesting stuff in Texas City

[Commander Cody]

From:

Judy Loney

Director, Special Use Facilities

Office of the President

University of Texas Medical Branch

I wanted to share a recent personal incident with you all just to make you aware that it could happen to you (and is apparently happening around the TC area) and to give you some tips I’ve learned about safeguarding yourself and your personal information. My husband and I went to bed Saturday night about 1:15 a.m. At 2:00 a.m. our dog started growling really low but loud enough to wake me. I got out of bed and walked to the bedroom door and thought I heard footsteps coming from our den. My husband woke up at that point. I said I think someone’s in the house. We looked around the room for some sort of weapon (we had nothing, not even a mace). After a minute we didn’t hear anything else so we walked into our den to discover our backdoor and breakfast room window wide open. We called the police who were at our home immediately. When I calmed down long enough to survey the house I discovered my handbag, my iPhone, and other electronic items missing (the dog barking scared them off before they could get our flat screen completely disconnected). Anyway, we think they were able to access our house through the doggy door (which we’ve since removed).



I’ve learned (from the police and family/friends who have been through similar incidents) a few things since Saturday night about safeguarding yourself and some of your personal information I wanted to share:



· Never leave you handbag, wallet, keys or your cell phone (which can contain your life information) easily accessible. Always remove those items to your bedroom (closet if you can). My handbag was sitting on the den floor by my chair and needless to say I’ve spent 2 days canceling cards, securing funds in my checking/saving accounts, flagging accounts for possible theft, etc. etc. etc.

· Leave your car keys by the bed. If you suspect someone is in your house hit the panic button…the alarm sounds similar to a home alarm system and might just frighten the intruder away.

· Install a deadbolt lock on your bedroom door. Secure the lock if you think someone is in your home, call the police, and loudly announce you have called the police and you have a weapon (my weapon of choice by the way was a leather wedge shoe and I’m fairly certain at this point that wasn’t going to do much good….my sister said I should have at least gone for the stiletto! LOL).

· Lock the doggy door at night (or remove it if possible), some thieves are using children to crawl through the door and unlock windows. If you can, install window locks that secure in the window track.

· Make sure you close all your window blinds/drapes at night. I didn’t and I left a light on in the den for anyone to view the contents of my home….big mistake. The thieves knew what they wanted from my home before they even entered the house.



We don’t know why our house was singled out but the police assured me our yard was most likely not the first yard they were in that night. I suspect it was because the thieves could see in the window and knew exactly what would be easily accessible, and could access the house fairly easily through the doggy door.



Anyway…just wanted to share so you all are aware of what is happening in the area and give you some ideas to help safeguard your home and yourself. By the way, when we were in Lowe’s purchasing new locks, the Lowe’s sales person told us she had just that morning sold new locks to someone from Dickinson who had a similar experience Saturday night.



Share with others to give them a “heads up”….be safe!

Judy





Judy Loney

Director, Special Use Facilities

Office of the President

University of Texas Medical Branch

[SwimFan85]

We looked around the room for some sort of weapon (we had nothing, not even a mace).

It's been so long I forget. Do those do a d6 or d8 of damage?

[NOS]

We looked around the room for some sort of weapon (we had nothing, not even a mace).

It's been so long I forget. Do those do a d6 or d8 of damage?

[Lefty Writer]

I'd go with at least a +2 2-handed broadsword.....

[dubya]

It's a good reminder. People should also know not to leave garage door remotes in cars parked outside at home or away. If a car is broken into and they find an opener and an address you know where they may be going.

Glad the letter writer was looking for a mace. Can you imagine the whacking a burglar would have received as they slithered through the dog door? I may have to add one to my toys. I have a couple Monadnock batons by doors but no mace (yet).

[davidtx]

It's a good reminder. People should also know not to leave garage door remotes in cars parked outside at home or away. If a car is broken into and they find an opener and an address you know where they may be going.

Glad the letter writer was looking for a mace. Can you imagine the whacking a burglar would have received as they slithered through the dog door? I may have to add one to my toys. I have a couple Monadnock batons by doors but no mace (yet).

Off topic: The name Monadnock caught my eye. I used to live near Mt. Monadnock in southern NH. A little google-fu and sure enough, the company was founded in Fitzwilliam, NH just around the corner from my old stomping grounds. Wikipedia says the name is believed to come from Abenaki and mean either "smooth mountain" or "isolated mountain". I always heard it as "one who stands alone". The mountain (3,200 ft) is a great afternoon hike - on a clear day, you can see 5 New England states. Now I know that its also tied to batons...

[GreezyG]

My Dad keeps swords by his bed incase there is an intruder.

[Excaliber]

It's interesting that, while the homeowner instinctively recognized the need for an effective weapon during the incident, she didn't address rectifying the lack of one in her words of wisdom to others.

If she could have known the backgrounds of the folks who invaded her residence at that hour of night in Texas and the weapons they carried and were prepared to use, she might have left off the LOL about the effectiveness of her shoe as an improvised defensive device.

She quite likely had a much closer call than she realized.

There are slow learners, and there are no learners. The latter can't be helped.

[Texas Size 11]

We looked around the room for some sort of weapon (we had nothing, not even a mace).

It's been so long I forget. Do those do a d6 or d8 of damage?

It took me a minute to remember what you were talking about, but I laughed loud once it came back to me. This one is a walk down amnesia lane.

[mgood]

Yeah, if you're afraid of having a gun in the house (I'll try not to roll my eyes), get a baseball bat (easier to come by than an actual mace, I think, and probably equally effective). Get a dog. Get an alarm. Do SOMETHING besides just hoping it doesn't happen again.

I believe it's d6, or d6+1. I was really trying to pretend I didn't know what you were talking about, but I can't help myself.

[Fangs]

I'm not even sure we're all talking about the same thing... Thought you guys were too old for that stuff?

[mgood]

Thought you guys were too old for that stuff?

I'll admit it, I played D&D and AD&D with paper and dice before anyone thought about doing RPGs on a computer.

[lowonair]

am i the only person i know that didn't play D&D?

[Texas Size 11]

Thought you guys were too old for that stuff?

I'll admit it, I played D&D and AD&D with paper and dice before anyone thought about doing RPGs on a computer.

Me too...back in the day when the pencil was high tech.

[dubya]

The name Monadnock caught my eye. I used to live near Mt. Monadnock in southern NH. ... I always heard it as "one who stands alone". The mountain (3,200 ft) is a great afternoon hike - on a clear day, you can see 5 New England states. Now I know that its also tied to batons...

I never knew that. That's an interesting side note. Glad you posted it!