For the second night in a row I have observed the same suspicious vehcicle in my driveway around the same time of night. Last night, I was in the bathroom at about 10:30PM when I heard a the sound of a distinctive car exhaust infornt of my house. We live on a dead end street in the back corner of a subdivision and there is usually no traffic other than the neighbor and ourselves. The exhaust I heard was distictively an American V-8 with dual pipes, and the neighbor drives a Miata, so I knew it wasn't her car. By the time I got to the front window to peak out, the car was leaving, but I could make out the tail lights of a mid-late 1980's Chevy Caprice. I didn't think too much about it, thinking they were lost and probably turning around.

Tonight, at 10:20PM, I was out back taking out the trash when I heard what I was sure was the same exhaust note. I walked to the front corner of the house to discover the Caprice backed in next to my car. I watched for a minute and took note of what I observed. Late 1980's Chevy Caprice, light blue, chrome 20 or 22" wheels, two adult black males, one wearing a baseball cap, and the car had a video monitor in the headrest of each of the front seats. The headlights were off, but the car was still idling, and the driver was talking on a cell phone. The passenger, who was closest to my car, was looking at my ride. Incidently, my car happens to be a somewhat rare American sedan, made in the late 1990's, sought after by collectors and gang bangers alike. I couldn't make out the liscense plate in the dark so I slowly walked closer to their car, concealed by the dark, and in the blind spot of thier mirrors. Before I could get close enough, they took off suddenly and without turning on their headlights. When they got about a block away, they turned on the lights, but both of the liscense plate lights were suspiciously out.

Obviously a crime had not been committed, but I called police dispatch to report a possibel suspicious car and gave a description. I know there is nothing they can do, but I thought it would be a good idea to have something on record in case I see them again.

My wife thinks I am overreacting, but soemthing just didn't feel right.

MAKE A LOG of everything you just wrote here, on paper, time and date it.  keep it in a notebook and get a camera.  

that guy made you and you didn't see him do it.  he'll be back.  be ready.  your wife is an honest person and doesn't think like scumbags.  

Dude not overreacting . Does any of you neighbors associate with these type of people? If not why were they on your block . I would up the security on your vehicle sounds like its the target .  

You wife is wrong.

Pull the right fuse and that sucker isn't going anywhere without a tow truck.

I think it is time to buy "the club" for your car, and maybe some other such preventative measures (like pulling a fuse or getting a gps tracker).   organize a neighborhood watch, or at least tell all the neighbors you saw what looked like a thief scoping out THEIR cars to steal  

i'd definitely be on yellow alert for a while.  

do you have a garage?
might be time to make room for the car

Im not far away.

Need reinforcements?

start popping out your starter fuses at night.  Park it right up next to your garage, or better yet, in it.

Quoted: You wife is wrong.

+1

they'll be back.  it might be tommorow, or it might be next week.  don't let your guard down, and don't let yourself become a victim.

Sorry about that. I was lost.

Dude....this is ARFCOM GD....thus....


I say you take off two weeks from work for vacation and sit up every night to ambush them all tactical ninja'd out!

Seriously...park the car in the garage, or render it inop.

if i were you, i would keep the car as normal as possible, disconnect the starter, but if you think you can catch the suckers inside your car, leave that thing outside, as long as you have some decent insurance to pay for part of any damage, and a decent prosecuting attorney to make sure the bastards cough up any other expenses you have, I would say you are better off doing what you can to get some lowlife scum on the record and in court.  if they are doing this to you, they are probably doing it to others as well.

Maybe you could put a tire spikes where they backed in.  Just remember to pull them up tomorrow.

How about motion sensing lights or video equipment?

The car is very out of place in this neighborhood. I have no doubt that they were up to no good and my car seems like the most obvious target. I am thinking if they come back it will probably be in a different vehicle.

I really don't think they made me. I was in the dark next to bushes and never got within 40 feet of their car. They had lights to their face and I had no light to my rear. It was also fairly bight inside their car due to the video screens and cell phone.

I made a loop through the neighborhood and didn't see the car anywhere. I don't have a garage, but I parked the car where there is no room to park next to it and to make it as difficult as possible to move.

What fuse do I need to loom for to pull?

You are being cased.
Go hot.

+1 on motion lights . They are cost effective and work well as a deterrent . Only problem is you might find yourself drawing down on the neighbors cat often .

Quoted: You are being cased. Go hot.

Always.

look on the cheater sheet that labels the fuses- start pulling important sounding ones until you can't start the car.   if it sounds like "cpu",  "fuel injection" or "starter" its probably a good one.   don't bother with the ones labeled "lights" "windshield wipers" etc etc

Pop the fuse out of the fusebox that goes to the engine controls.  

ETA: dammit, beat to it.

Quoted: You are being cased. Go hot.

Big time. Since both these encounters were within the same 10-minute time frame, hopefully you can request the police have a unit in the area this same time tomorrow.

next time you see there car, do a drive by bayoneting

Most people (even triburst) are focusing on the his car being the target.  Why not the house, home invasion style?

Out of the way quiet street.
Not much traffic.
They could come in with guns drawn, rob you and be gone quick!

Be careful and very aware.

Go Hot! is good advice.

in your owners manual, there will be a page that lists and points out the location of the fuse the starter/other important stuff is hooked to in your car.  

You may want to think up a way to tell if they have been in your car - if they get in and can't start it, they may come back another night and try again...in a couple weeks after you've stopped pulling the fuse.  

Quoted: Quoted: You are being cased. Go hot. Big time. Since both these encounters were within the same 10-minute time frame, hopefully you can request the police have a unit in the area this same time tomorrow.

Done.

didn't think about the fact that they may be casing your house, too - as per sum-rifle, go hot!  A home invasion may happen during the day when you are gone and just your wife/kidlets are home, too.

I like the tire spikes idea. Is the spot they were sitting in public property, or do you park in your own private driveway? If that happened in my private driveway, they would have had the barrel of a .44 mag pointed at thier faces. Definitely go hot!

Buy a boot that keeps the wheel from being removed or turned. The car cannot be driven away. It is bright yellow. If they see that they may seek a softer target.
If you want to render the car inoperable, and it's an older car, pull the coil wire. On a later model car take the distributer cap off and remove the rotor or just unplug the wiring to the cap.
Jim

Quoted: Most people (even triburst) are focusing on the his car being the target.  Why not the house, home invasion style? Out of the way quiet street. Not much traffic. They could come in with guns drawn, rob you and be gone quick! Be careful and very aware. Go Hot! is good advice.

I always have my GLOCK, spare mag, Surefire on me. AR and spare mag 3 feet away. Wife is in bed with 9mm carbine against the wall. Minimal lighting inside, floodlights on outside. Alarms are on, doors are blocked. Anyone entering the house will be walking into hell.

Your wife thinks you are overreacting? What the hell? Is it normal in your neighborhood for a car to park in your driveway in the middle of the night? You are definitely being cased or one of your neighbors is. Stay Alert. Could put some spikes in your driveway for when they come back . Also, pull the coil wire on your car so they can't steal it.

As much as I hate to stereotype/profile, a blinged out late 90's-early 00's Caprice driven by young males screams thug/gangster/POS/wannabe to me. See enough of them in south Florida.

A couple of disadvataged youths admiring your ride and you get all paranoid.   What could they possibly be up to.     What are you, some kind of racist.   ?    


Seriously, trust your judgement and intuition.  You should follow the suspect car back to it's lair and deliver a pre-emptive strike.  

BTW- I cut "the club" off of my steering wheel with a dremel in about 2 minutes. Don't be too surprised if your local thugs are rechargable dremel qualified also.  

Good luck.

Quoted: Your wife thinks you are overreacting?

She is actually very alert and generally suspicious by nature. I think she was just trying to calm me down after seeing me go on red alert mode.

Quoted: Buy a boot that keeps the wheel from being removed or turned. The car cannot be driven away. It is bright yellow. If they see that they may seek a softer target. If you want to render the car inoperable, and it's an older car, pull the coil wire. On a later model car take the distributer cap off and remove the rotor or just unplug the wiring to the cap. Jim

Yup. They're going no where fast.

I agree you were being cased.........Go Hot! better safe than sorry.

... Just once, it would be nice to quickly park your truck right in front (block them in) just to see how they react.

Quoted: Quoted: Your wife thinks you are overreacting? She is actually very alert and generally suspicious by nature. I think she was just trying to calm me down after seeing me go on red alert mode.

Understandable, but you are definitely not overreacting. Stay safe.

Quoted: Quoted: Most people (even triburst) are focusing on the his car being the target.  Why not the house, home invasion style? Out of the way quiet street. Not much traffic. They could come in with guns drawn, rob you and be gone quick! Be careful and very aware. Go Hot! is good advice. I always have my GLOCK, spare mag, Surefire on me. AR and spare mag 3 feet away. Wife is in bed with 9mm carbine against the wall. Minimal lighting inside, floodlights on outside. Alarms are on, doors are blocked. Anyone entering the house will be walking into hell.

Keep in mind that the dregs of society may retaliate for any actions you take.  I ambushed a burglar 2 years ago.  Fired several warning shots when he refused to comply  with my command of "Freeze !".  Bastard started running away.  Fired up in the air several times as he ran to the getaway car a block away.  I didn't really think about possible retaliation until an hour or so after I settled down.  Now I'm even more paranoid that they will come back some night with a couple of gallons of gasoline and torch my place.  I usually walk around the property between the hours of 12 and 3 AM before I head off to bed.  I'd rather confront them outside the house than be awakened to the smell of a burning house.  The other consideration is how they might retaliate against your family.  Ain't this a great country when the good men and women must live in fear of the scum.

Here are my thoughts.

Get some spike strips or make a couple up yourself.  Get two 8 foot 1x6, and a hole shitload of nails.  Put at least 40 in each and paint the boards and nails the same color as your driveway, or as close as possible. Place them 2 to 3 feet into your driveway from the road edge.  That way the strips will be harder to see from the offending vehicle.  Once that is done, keep a loaded gun on you at all times and a cordless or cellular phone with 911 on speed dial.  Also think about putting your wife and kids up in a hotel for a few nights.

One other thing you can try.  Talk to the local police and see if they allow off duty officers to moonlight.  If so, talk to a couple guys and see if they wouldn't mind making some extra cash and have them spend a few hours each night at your house.  Drive them to your house by yourself, this way there will be no suspicious cars around when the "potential" criminals come back.

Whatever you do, be safe and keep your family safe.

Good luck and I hope everything works out ok.

Quoted: A couple of disadvataged youths admiring your ride and you get all paranoid.   What could they possibly be up to.     What are you, some kind of racist.   ?     Seriously, trust your judgement and intuition.  You should follow the suspect car back to it's lair and deliver a pre-emptive strike.   BTW- I cut "the club" off of my steering wheel with a dremel in about 2 minutes. Don't be too surprised if your local thugs are rechargable dremel qualified also.   Good luck.

they use dent pullers.



I agree the club is useless, depending on the car, it's quicker for them to cut through the steering wheel than mess with the club if they don't have a dent puller.  They are pretty slick, the Pros anyway.

Snatch the rotor or the coil wire. going no where.

Quoted: ... Just once, it would be nice to quickly park your truck right in front (block them in) just to see how they react.

Just what I was thinking.

Quoted: tire spikes are not a good idea in front of your house.  You want them to get stuck in your front yard?  What are they going to do then?  Come find the "funny guy" with the spikes? Down the street maybe, but that creates other porblems...

Good point LOL

Ignition and fuel injection fuses pulled. Car is not going anywhere. I might think about making some spike strips tomorrow.

I really like the off-duty cops idea....these guys know what is/isnt legal, plus if shit goes down, you have a few respected officers at the scene.

Quoted: I really like the off-duty cops idea....these guys know what is/isnt legal, plus if shit goes down, you have a few respected officers at the scene.

A buddy I shoot with is a former New Orleans homicide detective and 20 year SWAT cop. I will get his opinion on the matter tomorrow.

If i were you i would not be getting any sleep, i had a car sitting down the street last night for about 5 minutes and then drove by my house slowly, i was locked and loaded, i do not like people that seem to be casing the neihborhood.

Suspicious?

Just because a couple of strange guys are parking in your driveway at night?

Backed in, with their lights off?

Naaa.........nothing to worry about

Tagged for the inevitable update...

Maybe they just had trouble getting a cell signal and your driveway was the sweet spot.