I’m sorry to hear about the burglery and am glad you’re all safe.
Illegal immigration? It’s Phoenix. He could well have been born at her local hospital to parents who had lived there their whole lives.
I’m so sorry, malkavia. I know how awfully stressed you must be this close to the wedding and this just has to be the icing on the cake. You’re okay and so are your fiance and son, and that’s really what matters.
I’ve had a schnauzer for awhile, it’s amazing the hearing abilities of these animals. When I come home and take my keys out to open my front door, my dog (who during the day is in the basement on the other side of the house) starts barking because he hears the keys.
I’ve had to actually train him not to bark at everything. He used to bark at the freaking wind and at the sight of birds or squirrels outside.
I’ve also got a new dog who is also pretty bark-happy. I honestly feel my dogs are the best security in the world eventhough they aren’t big enough to be guard dogs they’d definitely be able to wake me up and let any prospective intruder know that the house is aware of them.
Also, I can’t believe you live on a street where every house has been broken in to except for yours. :eek:
If Malkavian has any chance of getting anything back I’d say it’d be the car, if this guy is a stupid thief a car is one of the easiest things to get caught trying to unload.
Also, it’s hard to say what a home intruder will do when confronted. Often times these aren’t rational people, they may not be killers and may just be stupid or reckless. Those types will typically run at the first signs of trouble. Personally I keep a gun at the ready in the hopes I’d be able to equalize things between myself and any intruders.
Some of the stories I’ve heard in this thread remind me of a Discovery Channel show I caught awhile back. The show’s premise is basically to demonstrate how effortless it is to break into most homes. A former burglar works on the show and breaks into homes on camera (with the approval and under the video surveillance of the home owners) and demonstrates all the weak points in the home and also shows what items he would take, which hiding places he’s likely to look in, and what items he won’t take because they are of low value or hard to fence.
The former thief that works on the show said that in his criminal days he almost never had to break a window or use force to get into a home, that most people leave at least one way into their home without realizing it. On one show he went around back, discovered the family left a ladder out, and used it to get to a second floor window which was left wide open.
Also the show in question is It Takes a Thief . After the thief robs the home the Discovery Channel pays for a complete security renovation of the home, and the two thief-hosts teach the family about what bad habits they have when it comes to home security (typically explaining to them they need to keep all points of access locked at all times, and need to keep their cars locked at all times, even if they are in a garage.)
After the renovation the thieves try to break in again to see if the family has started following good home security procedures. Usually they don’t break back in but they will if they discover an unlocked entry-point.
I meant to address JohnBckWLD earlier and was called away from the computer.
Ginger is correct. This young man looked just like dozens of young men I see every day in Phoenix. He might’ve been born here, he may have crossed the river or jumped the fence. Who knows?
I hate that there is a place with so little hope of prosperity that men, women and children risk life and limb and often die in the desert for a chance at what I was fortunate enough to be born into. My feeling remains the same. Lock down the borders but make legal immigration easier and more accepted and for the love of god, DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT. ID cards, fingerprints, get these people in our system! I know that we don’t have money to willy-nilly throw around, but protecting our citizens while keeping our arms open to those seeking a better life seems like a cause worth digging deep into the governments pockets for.
This man didn’t rob our house and steal my car just because he’s an illegal immigrant, he did it because he’s a self-serving asshole with a sense of entitlement. And since my opinions on self-serving assholes with a sense of entitlement has always been low, nothing changes.
To be fair, the thief might be a U.S. citizen, born of U.S. citizens whose parents legally immagrated to make the “American Dream” come true for their future children. There are plenty of thieves (from all walks of life, both blue and white collar variety) right here in this country. All the OP knows right now, is the burglar is a young, “hispanic” male.
He lives on a street beside the university. It is home to a lot of foreign students who haven’t learned that beside an open window isn’t the best place to store your laptop. It’s also a fairly rich suburb.
malkavia Thankyou for sharing your pain with us. If it is any consolation to you, it is to confirm that my wife is not unusual to hold so much value in the little things that represent a relationship with loved ones. I say that as someone who isn’t built that way but needs to know that material things can mean so much more than just what they were designed for.
Anyway its good to know that your family is still intact and that you are able to adjust positively.
May your wedding day be glorious !
Hey, I could go into how it’s more important that no-one was hurt… Sure you lost a lot of nice things with great sentimental value to you, but it could have been so much worse if you had tried to confront the burglar and things got out of hand…
Instead I’ll just say that I hope he (or she) enjoys his new DS, and is blissfully playing megaman… before he strolls in front of a bus.
When I was robbed in 84, I learned about insurance riders, we lost mostly irreplaceable jewelry from the wife’s family when they fled Cuba. I lost very old and valuable guns and other stuff that had been handed down, etc.
The sense of violation from these things is a real bummer.
I thought long and hard about it.
Now, the only people who break into my house while I am there are armed and making me feel that my life is being threatened.
I’m so sorry to hear about what happened. Especially the week of your wedding, which is stressful enough. I know it’s small, but maybe with the gifts you receive this weekend, you can replace some of the items stolen. And please get some insurance!
When I was young, our house got broken into by neighbors down the street who had been “friends” of ours. It was about a year after my father had passed and they took bottles of liquor and something far more valuable to my mother - personal videos her and my father made together, of their private moments. Videos only a husband and wife can share. Other than the paranoia and embarrassment my mother faced, those were moments with her dead husband. We slept on the floor of the living room for a week with a loaded hand gun. We could never proove it was them (we heard rumors), the videos could never be replaced. Luckily they didn’t take all the home videos of my father, I have the not-so-private ones here with me.
Years later, my car was broken into. Although they stole nothing of any real value (CD’s, stereo, loose change), it made me feel violated and so very angry. When someone does this to you, the impact it has on your mental health for a while is huge.
I really feel awful for you, but like others have said, it could have been a lot worse. You have your life. That man will get what’s coming to him in due time. Maybe he’ll get into an accident with the faulty breaks and become a parapalegic. That would show him how it feels to have something taken from him. Keep us updated if anything happens.
Yet you mention that you are a very light sleeper. A lot of us are just built differently. I guess a person has to take the good with the bad. I know most nights my GF is jealous that I’m asleep 2 minutes after my head hits the pillow. When it’s time to wake up, I find myself wishing that I wasn’t quite so good at sleeping. 
I have two anecdotes related to break ins. The first happened right after I got out of the military. I was still dating a girl on base. I went to see her one night and ended up spending the night in her barracks room. It was definitely something she could have gotten in trouble for. When we went to sleep she had left a $50 bill on her night stand. It was gone in the morning. I remembered having a “dream” during the night of someone standing over us. shudder The doors to the room automatically locked, so it wasn’t just due to an unlocked door. Sadly, the only other people with keys would have been higher ups in her unit (ie. people with access to the master keys). On the other hand, whoever it was really couldn’t turn her in for me being there, now could they?
The second time was a few years later living by myself in Irving, Texas in a decent apartment complex. My apartment was on the second floor. There was a living room window right next to the entry door. The only other exit was to jump off the patio/balcony. The apartment had an alarm, but it was a noise maker only (not tied in to any call center). I was a full time student during the day and working full time on 3rd shift at night. I would often come home around 2:00am for “lunch”. One night as I was getting out of my car a few things registered. First, the blinds were blowing out of the living room window near the door. Second, an alarm was going off. I didn’t really think. I ran up the steps. The living room window was busted out. I ran in and flipped on the first light. There was blood on the alarm panel and wall. My stereo and TV were still there. I looked out into the kitchen and saw the balcony/patio door open. I ran out on the balcony and looked down. No signs of anyone or anything there. I figured that I arrived just in time and they bailed out off the balcony.
Settling down a little, I walked back into the bedroom and turned on a light. The intruder was in the closet. We both freaked. Then I recognized him. He was a kid (18-20, I’m guessing) that had been staying with the neighbors. Thoughts ran through my head really fast. Could I take him? Were there any weapons handy? Then it was all unnecessary as he started trying to apologize and ask me if he could borrow some money. He was shit faced drunk. I ended up calming him down (trust me, I still needed it myself) and telling him to go back to his apartment. I had to assure him that I wouldn’t call the police as long as he paid for the window. He finally wandered out. I called 911. He ended up making my night by trying to resist arrest. The neighbors were very apologetic. Still, that could have ended very badly had it been someone else. There are situations were there is no way of knowing how you are going to react until you’re faced with it.
To the OP, sorry for your loss of property (and the highjack). It’s very fortunate that things didn’t get worse.
Gosh, you guys have some pretty scary experiences with break ins. PinkMarabou, your story is heartbreaking. I can’t imagine how painful that must’ve been for your mother and your family.
Thank you all so much for your concern. We are doing okay. Last night was my son’s first night back (He spent the long weekend with his dad) and it was the first night since the break in that I barely slept.
I had to make him promise me that he wouldn’t try to be a hero if he heard any scary noises and that he’d come get us at once. Poor kid, he tries so hard to be the tough guy all of the time.
Our things are still missing, but we’re a family. And we’re a much larger family than I’d realized. This break-in has resulted in me spending more time with my parents and sister than I have in quite some time and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that. I needed a pretty drastic kick in the ass to remind me how much I need them and how blessed I am to have such an amazing network of people.
As an aside, a co-worker is in ICU (the coworker that thoughtfully replaced my makeup box for me Friday afternoon) with blood clots this morning. Out of the blue… she’s 28, doesn’t smoke… only risk factor was BC pills. I’m so worried for her, and at the same time… it really does put all of this in perspective.
I would’ve handed my things over with a smile to avoid something as scary and potentially fatal as what she’s going through. “At least I have my health” isn’t as trite as I used to think.
I’m so glad that those of you who have experienced break-ins are still here to bitch and commiserate with me. 
It is amazing how some of the hardest things in life can make you appreciate the things we all take for granted. We all need a swift kick in the ass from time to time to remind us of how precious life, and family, is. Enjoy your wedding this weekend, you’ll have so much fun.
Keep us updated on friend’s situation as well. How horrible for her! She must be so frightened.
Take care. Email is in my profile if you ever need it.
I’ve actually posted on here before asking about the pros and cons of sleeping pills during a period where I was literally only able to get 2-3 hours of sleep at most and was going 30 hour stretches without sleep. Purely because I was spending hours laying in bed futilely trying to force myself to drift into sleep. I’d definitely trade my sleeping habits for someone who goes comatose after two seconds, hell, it’d be worth anything someome could steal from me because of it.
Man, when that guy got sober I’m betting it was the worst hungover day of his life.
I’m sure it wasn’t good.
Three officers arrived on scene. The smallest was probably 6’2" and 200lbs. After they checked in on me, they looked in the window of the apartment where he was staying and saw him passed out on the floor. Some sharp pounding on the door roused him enough to answer. There was tons of physical evidence, the cuts on his arm, blood, prints, etc. They talked to him for a bit in that apartment. I don’t know what was said, but then I saw them escorting him down the steps in cuffs. At the bottom of the steps he made a break for it. He made it about 10 feet. He ended up face first on the asphalt with two of the cops on top of him. I’m sure he ended up with some serious parking lot rash as he had no shirt on. Did I mention those were some big officers? They didn’t do anything out of line, but they were no longer kind at that point. One of them told me not to worry about the kid being back anytime soon. Apparently he had a pretty long record and was already on probation. I never saw him again. Granted, I moved out of state less than a year later.
Yes, I’m sure that was a really bad hangover day. Sad thing is, I might have given a neighbor a couple of bucks had he asked BEFORE he was in my house.
malkavia, I’m glad to hear that things are going ok. Best wishes with the wedding!
When I was 19, I awoke one morning to find my front door wide open, my cowboy boots gone and a loaf of bread ripped open and lying on the floor in the middle of my 1 room apartment.
Bad enough to know someone had come in on me alone but to have them in the same house as your kids? Argh, that’d really have made me pissed.
It may not seem like it now, what with stuff missing and all, but I’m so glad there wasn’t any altercation during all this. Be safe.