POP's E Street Bust Fizzles
It was a long time in coming but I guess the Problem Oriented Policing unit's bust of a house on E Street in Eureka didn't amount to much. Such a shame. I'm guessing the house with the brick chimney in the picture was the house that was raided. It's just a couple houses up on the other side of the street from ours and we've dealt with the goings on there for years.
I had no idea, except I saw four or five police cars parked a block down the street as I went to work Wednesday morning. No cops in sight and I couldn't imagine why the cops would be stopped out in front of Carol's house. I guess they parked down there so they could sneak up on them. I didn't know what happened until I read it in the paper.
Looks like it fizzled. The only arrest was for some warrant plus the gal that owns the house got cited for illegally turning her garage into a living space for some guys she's putting up. That cite for the code violation not exactly being something a libertarian should relish although if it succeeded in cleaning that house out you wouldn't hear me complaining.
So did it work? Is the neighborhood quieter and safer now? Doesn't seem like it. We suspect residents of that house of going into the Matteoli's yard on Tuesday night and stealing beer from a cooler left over from a party they had that same night. The next night- I believe the night of the day they got raided- they came back and took the cooler. They also broke the back gate when they couldn't figure out how to open it.
I was unaware of that until yesterday when I noticed we got ripped off, too. I didn't notice the garbage can I store my flattened aluminum cans in was gone from our back porch until I went to use it. I smashed a can in my can smasher, turned to toss it in the garbage can and noticed the can wasn't there. I thought something looked different earlier but hadn't paid much attention until then.
I asked Connie if she did something with it. That's when she told me she hadn't and that the guys from the drug house that stole the Matteoli's stuff probably took our can, too.
The first thing I noticed earlier that morning was the 5 gallon propane tank we had sitting in the center of the patio had been moved to the middle of the sidewalk. I just figured Connie moved it for some reason. When we realized the garbage can had been stolen (half full of flattened aluminum cans) we thought maybe they'd planned on taking the propane tank, too, but changed their minds. Or maybe they'd come back again and steal the tank and our barbeque? It wasn't in the way of the garbage can so there was no other reason to move it.
I put both the tank and BBQ inside the back room for the night, closed the back gate as best I could and blocked it with some old rotten stumps. We were hoping if they did come back we'd hear them.
They didn't come back last night but we were treated to an hour or so worth of loud yelling from them around 11 o'clockish. Some guy yelling "F**K Y**" at the top of his lungs over and over again. Not unusual at all for that place. We expect that sort of thing. I'm just hoping the stealing isn't going to start being an ongoing issue.
About the only way I can think to get rid of them is to hope for a good enough bust that they all end up in jail or maybe figure some way to seize the house using asset forfeiture laws (another issue that should bother a libertarian). All we can do is hope, but I hate the idea of having to put anything remotely of value behind locked doors every night.
In fairness, I also need to remind myself and others there's always the possibility that it might have been someone else that did the stealing. It's not like this is the first time we've had thieves in the neighborhood.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 10:52 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
“But I don't have to be careful. I have a gun.”
~Homer Simpson
We’ve had similar problems, Fred. Here are some ideas.
Hawaiian Approach
Buy two large dogs, strap a 45 to your hip, and invite all the neighbors over for a potluck barbecue. It’s is a rural tradition, Haole Fred, and it works wiki-wiki well. Mele Kalikimaka!
Reasonable Citizen Method
Make a plea for help during the City Council meetings. Mayor Frank will always say, “Our Police Chief is right over there, he’ll be in touch with you right away, ” City Clerk Pam will always give you a business card, and Chief Murl will always take down the particulars, your phone number, and follow up. The City Council always doesn’t want you returning, either. Breaking rank-- and the chain of command—always has its merits, Pilgrim. Especially when it's televised on TV.
The Casual Shuck and Jive
One of our neighbors loves weaving an evil web of drama, Fred. She’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal. She's done this before. Many times. Claiming a drug dealer lived up the street, she was scanty on the details and facts as usual. You mean that nice clean cut kid with the totally babelicious wife and the two little kids playing in the yard? “Yep, that’s right,” she said, “that’s him!” Has anyone spoken to him? No, she said, but she was gonna call everyone she could anyway. Neighbors, POP, City Council, EPD. She started working that phone with her spinster magic. “I’ll talk to him and handle it, “ I replied. “Leave me out of it,” she said, cradling the phone between her neck and chain smoking fingers.
So, I chatted with him like his best friend. Told him the neighbor’s complaints and the hub-bub ruckus that was being stirred up.
”Keep a low profile and lay off the weed for awhile,” I suggested. Letting him know I was looking out for him-- and didn’t want no problems like the nutty gunslingin’ neighbors tearin’ up Dodge City around here-- he thanked me for warning him-- and keeping it all on the down-low with a Cool Hand Luke ‘tude. He also removed the god-awful muffler on his monster truck rattling the old folks’ windows and began driving the speed limit. No problems since. Mission accomplished.
The neighbor continually stirring up all the drama in the first place who I did the favor for? She mistakenly confused me with an organized crime family back East— ok, I helped a little with that- and she’s left me alone ever since.
...continued below...
Have Some Faith
Buy a big Rottweiler. Name him Jesus.
Buy a second one. Name him Moses.
Karma, the Law of Averages, or What Goes Around Comes Around
Around the corner was a quiet little house. No one knew there was a meth lab in the old garage. At least not until it exploded, rocking the neighborhood and sending a large fireball towards the sky. The elderly landlady said, 'Oh My! Heavens to Betsy!' surveyeing the smoldering ruins and seeing her nephew, the tenant, headed off to the pokey. She had the garage rebuilt at considerable expense, painted and repaired the house, replaced the windows and carpet, and moved in more polite and genteel renters. It's a major improvement in many ways.
Uppity Neighbors
We had ne’er- do-well Crankster house down the street. Blankets over the windows, in and out drug traffic, junked cars multiplying like bad STDs. You get the picture, Fred.
Everyone pitched in playing their part shutting it down. Uppity neighbors called the police making reports of various skullduggeries. One neighbor mowed his lawn with a .45 slung over his shoulder as they looked on. Another simply pointed his floodlights towards their house. One fellow collected HCSO and attorneys’ business cards and writing on them, ‘Call Me’ and leaving them on their mailbox and gate.
When Jehovah’s Witnesses would come to the door I’d point out the house.
“I’m fine, brothers. But see there? Yeah, them. Those folks need help. Your help. They're on that little cattle trail of sin when they should be on that Super Highway to Righteousness. They need food. They need some Spiritual food. Serious Spiritual Food! …Praise the Lord!”
Like soldiers on a mission and ties a flyin', they’d march towards the house of reputed sin and hammer out some righteousness, alright.
Finally a neighbor, an attorney, compiled all the police reports and brought the folks to court for being a ‘nuisance.' They layed low for awhile-- until their pit bull attacked another’s dog. That neighbor sued the bejeezus out of them. By then, though, they’d already had it with an entire neighborhood-- and the cops-- picking on them. Not to mention the lawsuits. Too much drama.
So they split overnight to Idaho, put their house up for sale, and took a big loss. Nicer folks moved in and fixed the place up. It’s been pretty peaceful ever since.
Neighbors. You gotta love 'em.
“A gun is not a weapon, Marge. It's a tool. Like a butcher knife, or a harpoon, or... uh, ... an alligator. You just need more education on the subject. Tell you what. You come with me to an N.R.A. meeting, and if you still don't think guns are great, we can argue some more.”
~Homer Simpson
Fred,
Maybe your neighbors tweeker friends were just trying to raise bail when they took your cans. Noticed there is work on the drug house across from you. Maybe it's next role will be a big grow.
Maybe your neighbors tweeker friends were just trying to raise bail when they took your cans.
That's what Connie suggested. I suppose that could be the case but I'm not so sure now. Keep in mind, we don't really know that they're the ones that did it.
House across the street was bought by a family and they've actually moved into it and are fixing it up. I remarked to Connie that we really don't know that anyone at the druggie house stole the stuff, but the folks that moved in across the street just moved in and suddenly things start disappearing?
Hey, just trying to be fair about this.
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