# Help - rescue me from the guy I am burglarizing! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 8, 2011, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907 "2011-03-08T09:59:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/1 "2011-03-08T09:59:23Z")
[Dueling 911 calls](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110308/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_dueling911_calls) … You couldn’t put this stuff in a script 😃 Sort of like chutzpah is a man up in front of a judge for killing his parents throwing himself on the mercy of the court for being an orphan. At least they didn’t have a shootout, but do you think that the burglar is going to try and claim not guilty when he comes up at trial? ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/2 "2011-03-08T13:20:36Z")
The article headline is weird. It reads like there’s a city called Intruder in Oregon. And will somebody tell AP that we don’t use Ore as the state abbreviation anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/3 "2011-03-08T13:30:52Z")
What ever happened to “burgling” as a perfectly good word? One who burgles is a burglar. One who burglarizes would be a burglarizer. In other words, I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/4 "2011-03-08T14:24:06Z")
At least they arrested the right person? > [@EvilTOJ](#): > > And will somebody tell AP that we don’t use Ore as the state abbreviation anymore? Miss. is still used quite often for Mississippi. I don’t understand it. Maybe it’s for those dummies who can’t tell MN, MS, MI, MO and MT apart. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/5 "2011-03-08T22:35:56Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > What ever happened to “burgling” as a perfectly good word? One who burgles is a burglar. One who burglarizes would be a burglarizer. > > In other words, I got nothing. A burglar isn’t one who burgles. I’m not going to say “burgle” is not a word, because clearly, it is exists and people use it. But as far as I know, the word “burglar” existed as a noun first, and “burgle” was considered a humorous and substandard back formation. So in forming a “correct” verb from the word burglar, there is nothing wrong with “burglarize.” In other words, I too got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/6 "2011-03-08T22:39:46Z")
Suddenly I’m in the mood for a burger. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/7 "2011-03-08T23:25:06Z")
From the CNN story, “The suspect, Timothy James Chapek, was in the bathroom taking a shower when the homeowner returned to the house Monday night, Portland police said in a statement.” Taking a shower in the middle of burglarizing a house? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/8 "2011-03-08T23:34:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From the CNN story, “The suspect, Timothy James Chapek, was in the bathroom taking a shower when the homeowner returned to the house Monday night, Portland police said in a statement.” > > Taking a shower in the middle of burglarizing a house? It’s dirty work, you know. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/9 "2011-03-08T23:36:53Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Suddenly I’m in the mood for a burger. Better go find the hamburglerizer ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/10 "2011-03-08T23:48:15Z")
\ Aye wood layake to buy a 'amburgulare \ ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/11 "2011-03-09T01:05:40Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > It’s dirty work, you know. Luckily, the prices are very low. Anyway, the kind of utter self-centered idiocy on display is fairly understandable given that it’s coming from a criminal. The burglar is probably a repeat offender and would need more than prison to become a productive member of society. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/12 "2011-03-09T01:12:44Z")
I shall gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburglerizer today. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/13 "2011-03-09T05:34:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From the CNN story, “The suspect, Timothy James Chapek, was in the bathroom taking a shower when the homeowner returned to the house Monday night, Portland police said in a statement.” > > Taking a shower in the middle of burglarizing a house? I recall a news story years ago with a burglar who was caught because after he gathered up the stuff he intended to carry off, he fell asleep in the owner’s bed. Moral of the story(s); burglars tend to not be the intellectual elite of the criminal world. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/14 "2011-03-10T00:14:45Z")
From the article and the video, it doesn’t sound like he was there to burglarize the house. He broke in for the express purpose of taking a shower. I’m guessing “recently homeless” rather than “dumb criminal.” ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/15 "2011-03-10T01:19:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From the CNN story, “The suspect, Timothy James Chapek, was in the bathroom taking a shower when the homeowner returned to the house Monday night, Portland police said in a statement.” > > Taking a shower in the middle of burglarizing a house? He wanted to make a clean getaway. _badumbump_ I’ll be here all week folks! Tip your waiters. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/16 "2011-03-10T12:49:36Z")
We were once burgled back in 1979, and the police asked us if any sandwich fixings had been left out. Apparently they had had a string of break-ins where the burglar had made himself a sandwich before leaving but didn’t clean up afters. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/17 "2011-03-10T13:05:47Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > **Better go find the hamburglerizer** This post has been hamburglerizer by the hamburglar! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/18 "2011-03-10T16:35:48Z")
I’ve heard that’s pretty common with homeless burglars. They break in, eat, drink your booze, shower, and steal your stuff. Some might hang around all day if they know the owner is at work. I see articles about this happening pretty often. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I recall a news story years ago with a burglar who was caught because after he gathered up the stuff he intended to carry off, he fell asleep in the owner’s bed. > > Moral of the story(s); burglars tend to not be the intellectual elite of the criminal world. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/19 "2011-03-11T21:54:47Z")
It gets worse, he was [arrested again](http://www.kptv.com/news/27136626/detail.html). If I was the woman whose house he was showering in, I think I’d be a little upset he was back out on the street again. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2011, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907/20 "2011-03-12T09:31:58Z")
> [@Ann\_Onimous](#): > > At least they arrested the right person? > > Miss. is still used quite often for Mississippi. I don’t understand it. Maybe it’s for those dummies who can’t tell MN, MS, MI, MO and MT apart. Postal abbreviations are not supposed to be used except in addresses. It’s a style thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-rescue-me-from-the-guy-i-am-burglarizing/573907.md?page=2)