I don't go Looking for it, But Drama Finds Me

Police blotter February 14th 2009 3:30pm
Chevron station robbery at gunpoint. 4 miles from Madge's house.

February 15, 2009 a man knocks on Madge's front door where Steve is home taking care of two year old Haley.

Man : Hey man, I'm out of work, just walking through the neighborhood to see if anybody needs some yard work done or something.

Steve: No, sorry I'm out of work to, so I couldn't afford to pay you.

Man: That's cool man, are you just out of work today?
Steve: No, for a long time, not just today.
Man: Oh, ok I'll try the neighbor.

February 16th 2009, 8:00 pm police knock on Madge's door, two cars with lights flashing. Steve steps outside to talk to them for what seems like forever. I'm thinking that "The Boy" has gotten himself into some trouble. Steve came back in the house to grab a jacket, and told me that they guy that knocked on the door yesterday looking for work is the same person who robbed the Chevron. The police said that he hid his gun in our yard, and they're bringing the gun sniffing dog to search. They were at our house for about two hours, and found nothing.

The next day they came to search again, they looked all over our property, and the neighbors. Unfortunately the gun sniffing dog was just a pup and was more interested in chasing squirrels, so they left.

When I got home from work I let the dogs out, they have a fenced area with two gates, one to the front yard, and one to the back. My dogs run away if the gate is open, they were out and in all night. When I got up in the morning to let them out, the gate was open and they got out. Which means that while we slept he came back and got his gun out of our yard. I was totally freaked out. I made Steve install a security system.

We live in a fairly large, but quiet neighborhood, our street winds through it between two main roads, and our house has the most landscaping on the street, so it makes sense that he would choose our house, he could have easily hid the gun in our front yard, but he chose the back, it's harder to get to, through a gate  across a dog poopy sidewalk and over a 4ft fence. I wouldn't have been as bothered if he had stashed it in the front but he violated my sense of safety by taking it around the house. Things could have gotten very ugly if he would have tried to get in the house when the baby was here. Steve would have killed him, he's a black belt, and we keep guns in the house. They arrested the guy a few days later.