Monday, April 25, 2011

I Swear It Wasn't Me!

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while already know that I’ve had a few scrapes with the authorities in my life. I PROMISE all of you that the six Orange County Sheriffs that were in my house this weekend with guns drawn, were not there because of anything I’ve done…
At 2:30 AM there were three of them, by 3:00, there were at least 10, by sunrise there were at least twenty! Most in uniform, some with assault rifles, detectives, crime scene types, suits, and blood hound handlers (with blood hounds). I just know our neighbors were wondering what the heck was going on!
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My wife had been babysitting for one of our daughters and got home at 2:15 am. There was a strange car sitting in our driveway.  We called the Sheriff’s Department to have it towed.  About the same time I noticed that there was a helicopter circling the area.  I told my wife to ask the dispatcher if there was something going on. Apparently there was and the Sheriffs were looking for a car (and the people in it).  Yep! It was the same car.
Plain clothes officers were looking for a bad guy who had several outstanding warrants for his arrest.  They had a tip relating to where he might be.  He and another person (wife maybe) did in fact show up. Apparently he didn’t want to go to jail; he resisted getting out of his car and the Sheriff Tased him. The idiot then floored his car and ran over the sheriff’s foot. 
You know how law enforcement is when one of their guys is attacked, wounded, or hurt.  So anyway, they came to our house to check out the car parked in our driveway.  BINGO!  The dispatcher called us back and told us to stay in the house while they looked around.  They didn’t find anything.  A couple more cars arrived and they started looking around the neighborhood. They were also knocking on doors and asking people if they were being held against their will.  One of them told us they were waiting for a bloodhound to try and pick up a trail. About 20 minutes later there was a knock on the door.  When I opened it, I was met by six cops with guns drawn. One of them asked me if we had searched our house.  After I told him we hadn’t, he said that when the bloodhound picked up a scent at the car he pulled his handler directly to our front door.  At a minimum, the bad guys tried the door.
Once the detectives had cleared the car, the bloodhound was allowed to go into it. When he got out, he started running down the street with his handler and about 10 cops in tow.  The guys must have run down a stairway that leads to the street below us and called someone to pick them up.  The cops were sure that is what happened, because the trail ended in the middle of the street.
All is well, that ends well!  The guys were caught about 3 hours later…
.

63 comments:

  1. Sounds like you were in a movie.
    I'd be huddled in a heap on my couch, afraid to move....(I'm great with imagination;)
    Glad you're ok....now you may need to go get some sleep?
    :)

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  2. Encounters with the authoritarians are always exciting.

    And even if they aren't stories about that encounter always end up sounding exciting!

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  3. Wow! Glad they were caught and you weren't mistakenly hurt by the police or by the criminal(s)! And I just read books this weekend : )

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  4. Oh, Pat! I'm so glad you and your wife are safe! Wow... that certainly gave the neighbors something to talk about. ;) Gave me chills reading it. You never know who's lurking out there...

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  5. I am glad that they were caught and that you and your family were not harmed or robbed or anything like that.

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  6. Oh wow. That is crazy!! And it gave you a good story to tell. :) Fun!!

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  7. Yikes Patrick! I am so glad you are and your wife are OK. Hummm....I am thinking about your recent posts about dogs. Are you thinking of amending them now?.....

    Really, so glad you are OK!

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  8. reason #246 to be able to defend yourself adequately. Intense man.

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  9. So all my worry that it was a "Cops" sort of scenario - that they'd bust into your living room to find you in a dirty old wife-beater shirt, drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and burping while a wife in a denim mini skirt and a black eye quivered in the corner - were all for nothing? :)

    Still. Scary!

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  10. exciting! But, I am sure it was a very tense and scary situation.

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  11. That's crazy!! And kind of "exciting" ... in hindsight ... you know, after the bad guys have been caught and the danger is gone ... How random to find a "baddy's" car in your driveway!! :) Glad everything worked out well in the end!

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  12. A professional bloodhound and his handler live around the corner from me. Funny thing, you can't train them to do the simple doggy things like Sit or Stay or even Don't Jump, because they need to follow their instincts at all times.

    So Tinkerbell is 105 pounds of pure, joyous, unbridled instinct.

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  13. Glad everything is OK with you and yours. Scary to even have their car in your drive.

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  14. For entertainment these days we tend to watch TV, or maybe have some friends over. We never thought of calling out the whole Sheriff's Department.

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  15. wow what an eventful weekend where u r at!

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  16. Patrick!!! Oh.my.gosh! So glad everyone is ok! That's a tough way to get a blog post.

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  17. makes me want to sing the "bad boy" song.

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  18. Never a good idea to run over a cop's foot. Sounds really intense.

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  19. whoa, so much excitement for the middle of the night. that must have been pretty scary when they asked you if you had searched your house and you realized he could be in there hiding. sometimes these things take awhile to get over....
    glad you're all safe and things can return to normal. have a good week Pat.

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  20. Well, you did a have a entertaining day....all is well that ends well....sorry, but enjoyed this caper.

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  21. You certainly don't have a boring life.

    Glad everyone is ok at your house.

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  22. glad that you are all safe!

    does kind of sound like a scene from a movie though

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  23. At least it wasn't a boring weekend Pat. Glad all turned out ok.

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  24. Not the kind of excitement you wanted in your life! Hey, but now you have some great material for a story.

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  25. Wow, it sounds like you had a very exciting morning. It must have been a bit of an adrenalin rush to open your door to six drawn guns aimed in your direction.

    Your story reminds me of when we lived in SE Portland,OR. On more than one occasion there were stand-offs between bad guys and cops in the immediate vicinity. When it got to the point that we could recognize swat team members on sight we decided it was time to move.

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  26. Sometimes great material just walks up to your front door. Glad no one was hurt and no hostage situation developed. Still, it must have been a little disconcerting after it was all over.

    I was held up at gunpoint when I was just out of high school and making a night deposit for the restaurant I worked at. I was strangely cool and calm at the time...but later that night, wow! Couldn't sleep and I was freaked for a week or so after.

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  27. Wow. I HAVE GOT to get me one of those DOGS!

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  28. Wow, this would be the makings for a good movie! Could only happen to you, eh? I think I'd have been crappin' my knickers!

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  29. That's quite a twist to the "knock-know, who is there" thing! I'm glad y'all were okay!!!

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  30. wow. what a crazy way to spend the morning! glad you and yours are safe.

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  31. i wish she was babysitting!! that would mean we were out on a really awesome date or something.... haha. mom saved the day/night again.... and i am SOOOOOO glad that they weren't there when she was getting home. i'm pretty sure i wouldn't forgive myself if anything had happened to her. =(

    SO glad you guys were safe!!! crazy stuff i tell you!!!!

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  32. Good lord, Pat, like Dawn said, sounds like a (horror) movie. I'm so glad everything's okay. That's the kind of excitement you DON'T need.
    xoRobyn

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  33. Wow, sounds like a wild and crazy night and a little more excitement than you really wanted, I'm sure. So glad that everything ended well and that they caught up with the bad guys.

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  34. Got a movie feelings.. Well captured. My wishes!

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  35. You have some of the best
    and most entertaining experiences.
    Glad you and family were safe
    and the bad guy caught.

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  36. Wow, this sounds scary. And almost like the time the did a drug bust at our house for my daughter and her friends. I think there was only 10 cops then, though...

    The fact they tried the door...shiver...

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  37. Never a dull moment, Pat!

    And aren't dogs wonderful?!

    Pearl

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  38. That's your story and I guess you're stickin' to it.

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  39. You are the BEST storyteller in the world. I had to read this one to my husband. I cannot believe all that went on that night. Unbelievable! I bet you could not believe what was unfolding in front of your own eyes!

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  40. Whew! Glad to hear you and your loved ones are safe!

    About 25 years ago, right after I finished school, I was rooming with a co-worker in a part of Chicago that was not, at that time, so good. Being the cocky young guy I was, I went out for a walk one night. At some point, I was walking along and realized that there were about a half dozen cops with guns drawn, in the street, behind the car I was walking by. Apparently there was a guy with a gun holed up in the building the car was parked in front of. They yelled for me to get moving. I complied. Quickly.

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  41. You are the only person I know with even more incredible stories than me...which is pretty awesome! xD

    Next time something like that happens, you should excuse yourself from the room when they all come barging in, say you need to "slip into something more comfortable" and put on something that would make them all feel so awkward, they would have to leave immeadiately for their trip to the store for eye bleach. LOL!!

    WONDERFUL storytelling, as always!

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  42. that makes for one strange night...

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  43. omg, what an adventure, Pat!
    that is completely crazy!
    glad you and your family were safe.

    have a great Wednesday!
    betty

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  44. Dawn - I had a good vantage point from my couch, I wasn't really huddling though, I was trying to stay awake!

    Peevie Juice - It can be even more exciting if they have a chip on their shoulders. These cops were all very nice though... Thanks again for the comments and signing up here.

    Lola - Thanks, I love books about police and dectives, so you know my imagination was alive and well!

    Pam - Thanks Pam! I'm pretty sure that some of them still don't know what happened! I did find out that one of my neighbors was going to work early and the police stopped him and searched both him and his car.

    Oilfield Trash - Thanks so much! When they caught them, they were sitting in a starbucks a couple of miles away. I don't have any details though...

    Baby Sister - It was crazy! Just one more thing to add to my life full of crazy stories.

    Bossy Betty - You are so funny! Truth be told, I think most dogs are like children. It's all the in the way we raise 'em...

    Jhon - No kidding. I felt MUCH better knowing that I could defend myself. I'm also happy it didn't come to that.

    TVA - Funny! Much of what you said may be true, but not the black eye. My wife is not the quivering type! Remember the PBR Jingle?

    What'll you have? Pabst Blue Ribbon!
    What'll you have? Pabst Blue Ribbon!
    Pabst Blue Ribbon beer!

    Fresher, Cleaner, Smoother flavor.
    Zest & sparkle millions favor.
    Get that fresher, smoother flavor,
    Pabst Blue Ribbon beer...

    Budd - It was pretty tense that's for sure. It took me two days to catch up on my sleep.

    DiamondsOnMyShoes - There was one funny thing about it. My wife was not happy that "somebody" had parked in our drive way. She thought it was probably a neighborhood kid or something. She managed to block the car in by parallel parking her car in a spot that was only about a foot longer than her car!

    altadenahiker - wow! I never knew that about them. Ah, Tinkerbell! What a cute name for such an un-tinkerbell looking breed!

    Random Thinker - Yeah, I agree. The dispatcher told my wife to go outside and get the plate number off the car. I wouldn't let her!
    Thanks!

    Jerry - Just something to pass the time! I need to get over to your place. I've just had so much going lately, that I've not been able to visit many blogs! See you soon!

    N4ML3SS - Just another quite weekend...

    Ms. A - Thanks! I know I'm a sick person to say this, but as soon I realized that we were in the middle of something, I thougt about my blog.

    becca - "Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"

    Tim - It was pretty intense. Yeah, they don't like one of their own getting hurt.

    Ms Becky - You are right! I don't scare easily and at that moment I was more mad at myself than scared. I should have done a better job of looking around.

    Rekha - It was exciting, that's for sure. I've had to retell the story to a bunch of neighbors. I should gather them all together in a group so I don't have to tell it so many times.

    OWT - Thanks! Life has never been boring for me, that's for sure!

    baygirl - Thanks! I was thinking about how I could work an adaptation of it into a short story.

    Ricky - Thanks! I'm pretty happy about how it turned out. Thanks again for signing on here. I appreciate it!

    Alex - I think the thing I'm happiest about was that we came home from our trip a day early. If we hadn't, our daughter (soundly asleep upstairs) wouldn't have heard them knocking and they probably would have forced their way in! She would have been really scared. Add to that, the fact that our cats would gotten out (coyote bait) and it would have really sucked.

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  45. Squirrel Queen - Very exciting! Yep, at first thought I wondered if they thought we were hiding them, or maybe we were being held hostage. Knowing your local SWAT team by sight is never a good thing!

    Chuck - That is so true Chuck! We were even more glad, when we heard they caught them. You know about my history and that unfortunately, I was involved in events that included guns on more than one occasion. It might be time to re-post some of them (and post some others).

    Cheeseboy - He was pretty cool looking. He looked like Deputy Dog!

    Marlene - Yep! After the first half of my CRAZY life, I really enjoy and appreciate how serene it has become. But every once in a while something crazy happens!

    Brian - Thanks Brian! We're pretty happy also!

    Ven - We are also happy! More like overjoyed...

    Ashley - I figured I'd not tell anyone exactly why your mom was at your house! But, if you insist... LOL! Crazy stuff indeed!

    Robyn - Thanks Robyn. I could live without it, but it's nice to have new material just pop up sometimes!

    Marguerite - It ended up just fine. I know my neighborhood was not very happy with the 4 hours of helicopters circling over house with the search light on.

    Pranavam - Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

    faye - Hi faye! It seems like I'm in the wrong place at the right time! Good blog stuff though...

    Jenny - I seem to remember a few of those incidents in my younger days as well. It must have been scary having your daughter involved.

    Pearl - Your are so right Pearl! I do manage to have some dull moments these days though! I'm very happy about that. SOME dogs are wonderful...

    Megan - That's what I said! I'm pretty sure my language was just a bit more "descriptive!"

    pitchertaker - That's right! I thought about taking some pics while it was all happening, but I figured the police would appreciate it.

    Genie - Thanks so much Genie! I seem to have a knack for being in the middle of things. Not so much these days though (I'm VERY happy to say!)

    Johnny - Wow! That must have been frightening! You just never know what you'll end up in the middle of. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, I know you very little time to do so and I appreciate it.

    Janet - That's too funny! I was probably dressed like that anyway!
    (not really!). Thanks Janet! I hope you are having a good week.

    Arjan - Hi Arjan! Yep, it was a long strange night...

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  46. Wow! What an exciting night you must have had.

    You wrote it so well that I felt I was peeking out your window.

    Glad all is well and that the bad guys were captured.

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  47. Hand on your head--you know the drill! Told you that car story would work!

    J

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  48. Betty - It sure was! thanks Betty! You also...

    Rita - It was pretty darn exciting! thanks so much! I just found out today that before they were caught, they came back to get their car and discovered that it wasn't there!

    John - I do know the drill, that's for sure! I'll use the story more often!

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  49. Can't wait to see your story profiled on 20/20 or Dateline or Maurey Povich.

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  50. Odd karma you have, Pat :-D ...I wonder what THAT was about in relation to you... :-D

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  51. Trooper Thorn - First off, thanks so much for commenting and signing on. I appreciate it! I'm thinking Jerry Springer is where anything relating to me would end up.

    Francisca - My karma is just fine madame! That is what allowed us to know that they parked in our driveway. 99.9% of the time, none of us is up that late to notice the car! At least I hope my karma is just fine...

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  52. Wow Pat, that's really frightening! What if your door had been unlocked or they had somehow gotten in?? Eesh. Gives me shivers. Glad everything is okay and they caught them!!

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  53. Wow, this sounds very scary! I'm glad the guys were caught!

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  54. And it came in the Orange County Register! Your claim to fame, Patrick:) I have a similar story, only not with guns drawn!
    Although in another story they drew the guns on my hubby (I guess we're so used to aggressive police actions here that he talked to them like they were his cousins:) Anyway, great story!

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  55. Cake Betch - Yep, that is the scary part. What is more scary is that we almost weren't there at all that night, and one of our daughters would have been home alone and asleep... Thanks!

    Pat - Thanks! so are we!

    Emille - Thanks! I really like being the one, that they are NOT interested in!

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  56. So...did you, or your wife, ask the officers to remove their black boots before they came into your clean house? Or did you cower in the hallway, trying not to pee your pants? Were they polite when they asked to see your ID and to hear about your whereabouts earlier in the evening? Or, did they pull out the handcuffs and rattle them in your face while demanding answers to rapid-fire questions?

    You're right, all's well that ends well, at least this time.
    Rosemary

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  57. That was interesting and kind of scary too. Glad they caught the person.

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  58. Oh my gosh. What an adventure. The stuff of thrillers/fiction. But of course truth is stranger than fiction. Always.
    Ann Best, Memoir Author

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  59. Rosemary - Funny! No, no, no, yes, no and no. They were very nice. They didn't think we did anything wrong, they thought they might have gotten in to our house and were hiding. They also went door to door in our nieghborhood asking each house if they were being held against their will.

    dot - More ineresting than scary, but when they thought they might be hiding in our house or garage (attached), I got a bit concerned.

    Ann - You are so right! Truth always seems to be stranger. Especially in my life! Thanks for stopping by Ann...

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  60. I'm sure glad they didn't get in your house! Very exciting.

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  61. That's just plain scary. Police are often known to shoot first & ask questions later. You and your family are super lucky.

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  62. Looking forward to your game picks for Monday's blogfest!

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