MetaChat REGISTER   ||   LOGIN   ||   IMAGES ARE OFF   ||   RECENT COMMENTS




artphoto by splunge
artphoto by TheophileEscargot
artphoto by Kronos_to_Earth
artphoto by ethylene

Home

About

Search

Archives

Mecha Wiki

Metachat Eye

Emcee

IRC Channels

IRC FAQ


 RSS


Comment Feed:

RSS

30 August 2007

Hope Me, Junior Detective Squad! [More:]I'm an exhausted zombie right now. At about 3:30 last night, my wife sat up suddenly and said, "I hear someone in the yard!" I laughed and figured she was dreaming; but she insisted that I look out the window, and, sure enough, there was a guy standing in our back yard. It was dark, so all I could see for sure was that it was a man in a white t-shirt. I yelled, "hey, what the hell are you doing?" at him and he ran out the back gate. Then he hung out there for a minute or two, periodically peeping over the back fence; as I called the cops, he took off up the alley. In the meantime, there was another guy standing in our neighbor's backyard.

The cops came and checked things out, didn't find anything (not surprisingly, since my wife's superhuman hearing allowed us to break things up before anything could happen); But here's the weird part: after the cops left, we heard our neighbor engage his really loud car alarm (it does this really loud, distinctive boo-BEEP every time he turns it on or off). My wife looked outside and saw him standing in the driveway between our houses in a white t-shirt.

So we're not sure what to make of it. My wife's convinced that it was him in our yard all the time, although we can't figure out why that would be (or why he didn't just say, "it's [neighbor]!" when I yelled). I say that's possible, but it's also possible that he saw the commotion/cops and came outside to check to make sure his car (which he prizes) was ok.

I'm curious to hear what you guys think was going on. Explanations? Theories? Conspiracies? And what's the etiquette when dealing with a neighbor whom you generally like but may have been skulking around in your yard?
White t-shirts are incredibly common. It's possible your neighbor heard you guys yelling and saw the cops come, and that's what woke him up. So he came outside and set the car alarm on his car, just to be safe.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 30 August | 10:51
White tshirts are pretty common. He may have heard the cops and commotion and just pulled one on to check his car. That would be my first guess.

Right now the only reason you have to think it's him is the t-shirt. I wouldn't act any differently unless you have more to go by.

(also- are you SURE it was him by the car, and not someone in a white shirt who set off the car alarm in the act of messing with the car?)
posted by kellydamnit 30 August | 10:51
JINX!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 30 August | 10:51
Wow, that would freak me out so bad.

I'd install motion-sensitive lights in the back and front yards. Good de-fences make good neighbors.
posted by muddgirl 30 August | 10:52
I would say I agree with your wife; that it was your neighbor in your backyard, and he didn't say Hey when you yelled because he was up to something. Except for this part: " In the meantime, there was another guy standing in our neighbor's backyard." - when? The whole time?
posted by iconomy 30 August | 10:55
"hey, Joe, we called the cops last night because we saw someone in our yard. There was some guy in your yard too. Man that's weird. Any idea what could be going on?" Approach it from the angle of troubleshooting, not accusing, and watch his reaction. His reaction of locking his car after the cops came by is perfectly normal. For all you know his dog pooped in your yard and he was too embarrassed to pick it up during the day. Or he had an argument with the other guy and something was thrown into your yard. Are there any teenage boys in that household? Could be a prank or other hijinks.
posted by desjardins 30 August | 10:57
Agreed that a white t-shirt isn't exactly a smoking gun; I had one on myself by the time the cops got there.

(also- are you SURE it was him by the car, and not someone in a white shirt who set off the car alarm in the act of messing with the car?)

The car alarm didn't go off, it got turned either on or off (boo-BEEP instead of BEEP BEEP BEEP HEY FUCK YOU I'M AN ANNOYING CAR ALARM BEEP!). So the person out there after the cops left was either him or someone else with a remote for his car.
posted by cobra! 30 August | 10:58
except for this part: " In the meantime, there was another guy standing in our neighbor's backyard." - when? The whole time?

Pretty much the whole time. Even after I'd yelled and one guy had fled our yard, there was someone standing in our neighbor's yard (and both yards are fenced); they had disappeared before the cops got there, though.

And that approach sounds about right, desjardins...
posted by cobra! 30 August | 11:00
Oh, and:

Are there any teenage boys in that household?

Nope. Just a mid-30s couple, just like us. There are some unruly teens who live a little bit down the alley, though.
posted by cobra! 30 August | 11:02
Jinx indeed!
And yeah, I'd go with desjardins suggestion.

Shoot, if my neighbor saw someone in their lawn, and someone else's in mine, and it was screwy enough to call the cops, I'd want them to mention it to me.
posted by kellydamnit 30 August | 11:04
And as always, cobra!, please give us updates as the story develops. (Because despite the fact that I'm not wearing a white T-shirt, I'm a pretty big snoop, myself.)
posted by Atom Eyes 30 August | 11:14
Right on. Any new developments will be reported.

To me, the funniest thing about the experience is this: my wife was jolted out of a deep sleep by some tiny sound, while our (boisterous, energetic, outgoing) dog slept through the whole thing, even when there were cops knocking on the door.
posted by cobra! 30 August | 11:29
Wow.

If you told the police that there was someone in the neighbor's yard as well, I'm sure they would have checked in over there to make sure everything was okay (not murdered in their beds or anything) and he was just worried about the car after they left. 73 percent of all men wear white T-shirts to bed. (or perhaps some other number that I didn't make up in my head.)

Yay for wifey's magical ears!!!
posted by taz 30 August | 12:05
Go buy yourself a Surefire G3 flashlight, a few spare batteries, and maybe get the high(er) output P91 bulb accessory.

Yes, I am quite seriously recommending that you spend $100 on a single flashlight.

That single flashlight will reliably and *effectively* light up your backyard from a safe distance. Used up close, the light is powerful enough to dazzle and disorient an intruder for several minutes. Once you've got the light, you've got the opportunity to take control of the situation.

I love my Surefire, and it rarely leaves my bedside table.
posted by Triode 30 August | 19:14
i r magicked teh internets || Suckitude at work

HOME  ||   REGISTER  ||   LOGIN