To the Officers on here?

[JHAWK1980]

On Sunday night I had a 13-14 year old boy pull a knife on me. Unfortunatly I had to pull my gun on him. As my wife was on the phone with dispatch they asked me to put my weapon away for the officers to come out. As I walked into the house to secure my handgun they boys took off. The officers that came out never caught the boy Sunday night. On Monday the same boy cam back tugging on his pants like he had a gun, my wife called and the officers got him on gray and Washington. My question is, will we be informed if this boy is released? What can I do about his family walking up and down the street staring up at my house making threats? There was about 9 kids out all together but the only one they caught was the one with the knife. Before anyone says that I could have or should have shot the boy, I am glad things worked out the way that they did no one got hurt and the bad guy got caught. Just a few questions that I have as I am worried about gang retaliation as the boys family is obviously gang related. Thanks James

 

[vitamink]

This is marion county.... that being said, they hold NO ONE. Essentially the kid was charged, taken to juvenile, they called his parents and he was picked up a few hours later. He has probably been out for a few days now. If you go to court (im not sure what he would have been charged with as i don't know the whole story) and you are listed as the victim, before gets released from juvenile you are supposed to get a call informing you that he is about to be released. Be sure that the prosecutor has a stayaway order issued for your house.

 

[JHAWK1980]

2 counts attempted theft, trespassing, intimidationx2, vandalism. Him and his buddies tried to steal a moped and when I caught them he pulled a knife on me and started coming at me. The next day he came by on his bike with his buddies tugging on his back yelling at me and my neighbor " your all dead tonight, your all gonna die tonight." that's the sum of it.

 

[vitamink]

worthless bastards. After the initial hearing and bond review, im sure the judge will let him go with a 250$ (IF ANY) bail. The first thing i did after my house got broken into was add a camera system (300$ from tiger direct). If there is one thing you can't have in the hood, its a scooter. They attract the hood rats like cheese. He should have already told by the judge that he is to have no contact with you. A dvr camera system will show if he comes back on your property, and that really pisses the judges off when they don't listen.

 

[sadclownwp]

I am, glad you didn't shoot him, but have you thought about beating him with a baseball bat, the next time he comes around, or maybe some pepperspray. I bet some pepperspray to the face would keep him away for awhile.

 

[lashicoN]

Glad to hear that you didn't take the knife lightly because a teenager was holding it. Kids can be just as vicious and deadly as big boy bad guys.

The camera system is a great idea. You should buy a DVR camera system, then park the moped out in your front yard to taunt him. If he steals it, you've got it recorded.

 

[gunman]

i'll apologize in advance for the length.. but my best advice is even if they don't come back you might as well be ready for them or anyone else.. think in layers. unless you've got a lot of time & money you'll have to prioritize what's most economical for you but heres some ideas


cameras to see your yard near your house, garage, car etc as well as the most likely points of entry doors, windows. make sure you put the monitor/recording device somewhere that wouldn't make it easy enough for them to steal the dvd/tape that they're recorded on and the cameras somewhere they wouldn't be able to damage them before being recorded.. however wearing a mask would ruin any real video evidence anyway

than think about the house itself strengthened door jam, bars/security film for windows, alarm system, dog.. make sure you're in a good habit of locking all doors & windows

now inside.. a good size safe(heavy & anchored) if you dont already have one, putting laptops, ipods, jewelry or other targets of theft in inconspicuous places, locked up or at minimum out of sight, and again a dog.

at minimum i would recommend cameras & a dog with a decent reputation for being scary. as far as training it to be reliable.. simply keeping it indoors and away from strangers or other visitors would be sufficient as it would not be comfortable with anyone in or around the house thus alarming you to their presence and attacking should they come in. but ensure you're interactive with the dog on a daily basis and it listens to simple commands so it is not a danger to visitors

 

[1032JBT]

I am, glad you didn't shoot him, but have you thought about beating him with a baseball bat, the next time he comes around, or maybe some pepperspray. I bet some pepperspray to the face would keep him away for awhile.

Pepper spray will just **** him off. It will work in the short term, but I would guess as soon as it wears off........he's coming back and he will be REALLY pissed now.

To the OP:

Just do what you have to do to keep you and yours safe. Watch your 6 and a big +1 to a dvr camera. If you have to use any force to defend yourself then use the appropriate amount of force and if you have to put him down (not just firearm related but also hands on) do it hard and fast and watch the 6 cause his buddies aren't far away. They never have the ba**s to do this stuff alone.

Good luck..............bad situation to be in.

 

[jd4320t]

Good job for not taking it to the next level There is still a chance for him but don't let your guard down either. Hopefully he will straighten up or get busted again without doing anyone physical harm.

 

[RelicHound]

WOW! 13-14 yrs of age!
shows you that threats come in all shapes,sizes....and ages.
I agree with fpd..do what you have to do to protect you and yours.
dont go at this alone..inform your neighbors and ask that they keep an eye on your property when they can and inform them that you will do the same for them.

 

[SSGSAD]

You, can bet, that they'll be watching, waiting, and they will strike.
I would make a habit of sitting on my porch, (if you have one), and
clean my rifle, shotgun, etc., just one, the same one, in other words, don't tell them you are in possession of an armory... just sit there during the evening wiping a gun, with a rag.... pretending, if you will...
I would carry, sounds like you do, train your wife, if you haven't already,
and hope that you never have to do anything, but BE PREPARED... and
BE SAFE .....

 

[Jon Craig]

Having dealt with gangs in Southern California, I will echo what others have said... No good will come of this situation - just be thankful you are armed and aware of the situation, and be ready to act when the time comes.

It really sucks that normal, honest people have to deal with this crap - but we do - so, oh well. Just be vigilant and ready.

Also - make sure you get written documentation into the police about the shouted death threats.

 

[shibumiseeker]

It's a no win situation, but if they are indeed child gang members you are better off not having had to shoot since that tends to get the adult gang members to take notice.

+1 on increased security now, and also be very careful of being baited. A common gang tactic is to get you to chase one of them into an ambush. Chances are pretty good that the worst that will happen is you might get some vandalism over the next few weeks, but the nice thing about miscreants that age is they have a short attention span, and they'll likely move on.

I feel for ya man. It's part of why I live out in the sticks, I spent too much time in the bad parts of Indy.

 

[JHAWK1980]

Thx to everyone for the advice. As for security, I have protection one alarm on the house, I am looking into and hoping to install the dvr this weekend along with more flood lights. I have 3 dogs the biggest is a rough collie but he don't like strangers, and I do have a safe and it's full. As for my wife she has her LTCH and does carry also. As bad as the eastside is, me and my neighbors are pretty close so we look out for each other. My neighbor behind me has the back of my house on his dvr I just need to fill in the gaps.

 

[christman]

I hate to say it, but move. You still have a lot of years with this kid growing up. They don't forget as someone else mentioned. When they get bored in a couple years, and you think its over with, your house will be the first to get messed up. The animals work in packs including their families and when they are not causing you trouble, their adult counterparts will be. Everything their kids do is someone else's fault. And anything done to their family is a bridge burned to the ground and pissed on. Accountability means nothing to these groups.

As for court. You should get any notice in the mail of the court proceedings from adjudication to release. Someone above said they don't hold kids in Marion county very long. They are right. The only ones that get held nowadays for any length of time are very violent offenders and sex predators. This is solely because of the privatization of juvenile facilities. They know the parents can't afford the repayments of their incarceration and treatment in counties like Marion CO. so they hold them as short as possible. Now if they do some horrendous stuff they will eventually end up in a class 3 facility like pendleton boys prison. But by then, you have probably already been affected too much to care where they go..(besides hell)

 

[dsol]

I have noticed that kids that age think they are invincable. They are too young to give a damn about the ramifications of their actions and they know they are only going to get slapped on the wrist for anything they do. They also have lots of stupid friends who will take offense at anything directed toward the little worthless punk.

Be careful and hopefully nature will remove him from the gene pool before anything bad happens to you and yours. You cannot do anything proactive towards the punk, you can only react.

 

[Lynn Smith]

Visible guns - unless it is your daily carry don't do it. Cleaning a shotgun or other weapon just tells the kids and their older counterparts that there are guns in the house when you aren't home.

Most of these young gangs are basically the minor leagues trying to get noticed by the bigger gangs so that they will get "drafted". It is an issue that the local junior high and high school officials are trying to deal with while keeping it out of the headlines. Having them tell their older friends you carry a gun is one thing, having a gang know that you have more in the house is not so good.

DVR - excellent idea. I haven't put one in yet but I am going to. When you get your system you can also get "bait" cameras. Basically you place your real cameras where they are not highly visible and then put an empty camera case where it can be seen. If the kids decide to disable the camera they will be hitting the empty case and not the real camera. Wont fool professional thieves but will work well on street gangs.

This situation is bad but having neighbors that will help watch your back will help. The best answer is to move, but we all know that is easier said than done. Keeping your yard foliage trimmed so that you can see your whole property from inside the house is a must. If there are places for them to hide then that is where they will be if they get the nerve up to pull anything else.

A website I would recommend looking at is SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA - it is a guy who has gone through the decline in Argentina and writes a good bit about being safe in your home and when you are coming and going from your home. It may be helpful.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[JHAWK1980]

The animals work in packs including their families and when they are not causing you trouble, their adult counterparts will be. Everything their kids do is someone else's fault. hell)

You couldn't be more right. I have been dealing with The comments and threats since Monday night. And of course it's my fault cause I shouldn't of had a scooter in my fenced in back yard. But as for the moving thing goes. I own my home all I pay is taxes it's kinda hard to walk away from something like that once you become used to it.

 

[huey243]

it's kinda hard to walk away from something like that once you become used to it. But you still can walk away, If things get worse you might not be able to so that's something to think about

Something to think about, Good luck

 

[henktermaat]

You couldn't be more right. I have been dealing with The comments and threats since Monday night. And of course it's my fault cause I shouldn't of had a scooter in my fenced in back yard. But as for the moving thing goes. I own my home all I pay is taxes it's kinda hard to walk away from something like that once you become used to it.

That's pretty cool- selling an owned home makes for a hell of a down payment when you buy the next house - or you can go "straight across" with no new mortgage. Keep us updated...