Posted: 10/25/2008 10:04:16 PM EDT
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Well, it happened to us. We live out in the country a few miles outside of Ames, but when my roommate and I came home tonight (approx. 11:30pm) he made a comment like "It looks like someone is staring at us through our window." I immediately went on high alert. As we pulled further into the yard, our front door, which is RARELY ever used was swinging wide open in the wind and rain. Fuck. We have a 3rd roommate who happened to be in Missouri for the weekend, so that ruled out all occupants. Well, I'm constant accused of being paranoid, but you bet your ass that stopped tonight. This was worst case scenario though. I'm more setup for a being in my room/sleeping scenario than my guns inside and me outside. Ran to the shop and unlocked my SNS with an M3 light and proceeded to sweep the house with a scared roommate in tow. Everything was in place except the 3rd roommates laptop, which made it to the middle of the living room floor. We must have just had missed perfect timing by a cunt hair and caught these guys before they could do anything. We parked out back by the shop, so they must have made their getaway out the open front door. Once we cleared the house we went back onto the road looking for cars pulled over on the side of the road within a half-mile or so of the house, nothing. We hadn't seen anything on the way in. We got lucky. But I learned a few things from this: A) I need to take a room-clearing tactics course. There were a few spots where any idiot with half-a-brain and a gun could've gotten me. B) Should store more than 1 firearm for stupid unarmed roommates C) NEVER leave guns in direpair. My light-equipped AR available once I got inside, but I had taken the bolt apart for detailed cleaning and then faced a distraction of the female variety. That will NOT happen again.\ Turns out roommate 3 had left the front door unlocked after loading a TV into his pickup. Could've gotten one of us killed. So for all of you 'paranoid' people out there...keep on keepin' on. For the rest of you.... I hope it doesn't take a wakeup call like this to get your butt in gear. We get more Chicago immagrints every goddamn day, and it'll be your town next. |
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We didn't end up filing a report, but we called Story Co. Sheriffs and told them that there might have been a break in, but we weren't sure and just asked them to run some extra patrols in the area. I work for the University PD here and have asked them to stretch their legs on the weekends and swing past my place. As far as an alarm, we rent an old farmhouse. The bastard won't put in new windows that have been in since 1914, so I doubt they'd put in an alarm system. Frankly, I'm surprised they even came in the house. There's thousands of dollars worth of tools ( 2 roommates are professional mechanics and I'm a shade-tree), motorcycles, etc. They did try to break into a smaller shed on the property, but couldn't get it all the way open. It's hard to look at your house the same way. This kind of shit rattles my bones. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well. I will say, I think a weaponlight is the smartest purchase I ever made. |
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i'm working up another alarm system for the property that involves an audible alarm and a dialer that will go to my cell phone instead of the other one that goes directly to the county law center. frankly, they aren't that expensive. and when i say they aren't that expensive, they can be had under $200 for a no frills unit... that would probably be enough in many cases to send the average dude running... food for thought. |
| Just a quick note, If you had engaged and had to defend yourself in that situation, by having to shoot the intruder, I believe you would not have come out very well on the court side of things. The way Steve Anderson (Des Moines P.D.) put it, you were not in imediate danger, and by going in to confront the suspect it would have been argued that you had intent. I think it is b.s. the way Iowa protects its criminals and I would love to see a Castle doctrine, much like Florida. None the less he stated that even if YOUR family were in there being held, you would be prosecuted as a criminal, as you yourself were not in any harm. We went over this scenario in the CCW class that was givin by the Training Specialist out of Des Moines. |
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Quoted: Just a quick note, If you had engaged and had to defend yourself in that situation, by having to shoot the intruder, I believe you would not have come out very well on the court side of things. The way Steve Anderson (Des Moines P.D.) put it, you were not in imediate danger, and by going in to confront the suspect it would have been argued that you had intent. I think it is b.s. the way Iowa protects its criminals and I would love to see a Castle doctrine, much like Florida. None the less he stated that even if YOUR family were in there being held, you would be prosecuted as a criminal, as you yourself were not in any harm. We went over this scenario in the CCW class that was givin by the Training Specialist out of Des Moines. +1 while i think it can be argued, i would err on the side of caution. i understand that mr. spears' (the pizza hut dude) attacker was being brought up on charges, but that was an entirely different scenario... |
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Yes, I understand that. However, my roommate and I have several firearms in the home and none of his are locked up. It would be safe to assume the intruder would be armed. It was pouring rain outside, and I wasn't about to sit on my thumbs until Story county arrived 15 minutes later. The sweep of the house was to be sure it was safe to re-occupy, not to shoot whoever was in there. It would be stupid not to use an asset I had at my disposal if I were to come across an armed assailant. But I'll say this: In the moment, ALL of that legal bullshit goes out the window. When someone is in your home, it's as if you're being violated and will do anything in your power to stop it. These guys may have seen the inside of our place/shop now and if so, will def. be back. Dead men tell no tales. And dead men with a full clip in them tell the tale of a scared victim defending himself. |
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I understand where you are coming from, but under Iowa law you can not make yourself a victim(IA 704.6-2), which is what could have happened had there been someone in there. That is alot of the reason why some sheriffs do not want to give ccw's, they are affraid that people will try to play the role of the law enforcement officers. That being said, I suppose you could argue IA 704.3 Defense of self or other (this would be sketchy by means of 704.6) IA 704.4 Defense of property IA 704.5 Aiding another in the defense of property IA 704.7 Resisting forcible entry Kind of a pile of speghetti when dealing with laws that may contradict themselve, remember it isn't what you believe, its what the 12 other people will want to believe, the more liberal Iowa gets, I don't have alot of faith finding 12 people who share my views. |
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Fuck it, I'm moving to Texas. I appreciate the law side of things Teggy, thanks. I realize that pretty much no-matter the situation, had I discharged my firearm, I would be sitting in a cell and paying lawyer fees out the ass.... Probably end up costing me more than anything the thieving bastards would've stolen. I'd like to think of myself as a compassionate person. I'm an Eagle Scout, I put in lots of hours of community service every year, if I see someone standing on the streetcorner, I'll go and buy them a hamburger, I spent this summer's floods up to my chest in shitty water helping evacuate a nursing home, etc. If these dirtbags needed something, they'd be better off just fucking ASKING me, but when someone tries to come into my home and take it, after I do so much for the community really irks me. I'd spend the rest of my life in a cell so long as they were rotting in the ground. |
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Quoted: Fuck it, I'm moving to Texas. I appreciate the law side of things Teggy, thanks. I realize that pretty much no-matter the situation, had I discharged my firearm, I would be sitting in a cell and paying lawyer fees out the ass.... Probably end up costing me more than anything the thieving bastards would've stolen. I'd like to think of myself as a compassionate person. I'm an Eagle Scout, I put in lots of hours of community service every year, if I see someone standing on the streetcorner, I'll go and buy them a hamburger, I spent this summer's floods up to my chest in shitty water helping evacuate a nursing home, etc. If these dirtbags needed something, they'd be better off just fucking ASKING me, but when someone tries to come into my home and take it, after I do so much for the community really irks me. I'd spend the rest of my life in a cell so long as they were rotting in the ground. I have been thinking this for a little while now, in the event of a revolution, that is almost sure to come, I thought this may be the best bet for a strength in numbers state, but Texas has become very metropolized, and I would rather be in the hills. What to do, what to do? I have been telling people that in the event Barry gets elected, no matter what happens we will have 2 far left people manning the controls  . On top 'o that lose 9 seats in congress, and seat 3 liberal justices, we may be lucky if we ever get to vote again . Some people say the tinfoil is cutting of circulation to my brain though . |
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In the event of revolution, all bets are off and laws no longer have a hold on us and I'd no longer have a need to be in Texas. I'd rather be right here. Lots of scrap metal, fertile ground and lots of agricultural experience, lots of ties in the community, etc. If the zombies come, I'm headed to Septic's. If it's a lawless mob/ 'light's out' type situation, I'll be headed to Southern IA to a buddy's farm. Looks like we have matching hats. |
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Fuck it, I'm moving to Texas. I moved from Iowa to Texas in 2001... one of the best things I ever did. And unlike Iowa where the laws seemed to get worse all the time, the gun laws down here have gotten better since I moved. If you don't like city, there is still a lot of "middle of nowhere" around here. A lot more than Iowa actually. |
Glad to hear you're alright Sam and that you got home when you did.
I know what you guys mean about having a place to get away too it's just that all the places I own (other than the house in IA) are in AZ, ID and FL and we've got a number of them up for sale now the way it is so we can pay off all our bills other than the mortgage. |
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I realize that capping a worthless piece of shit would make us all feel better AND it would reduce the pool of Obama voters, but next time, call 911 and let the guys that wear body armor for a living clear the house. I'd rather not have to drive to Oakdale to visit you.
Stay safe brother. |
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I realize that capping a worthless piece of shit would make us all feel better AND it would reduce the pool of Obama voters, but next time, call 911 and let the guys that wear body armor for a living clear the house. I'd rather not have to drive to Oakdale to visit you. Stay safe brother. Well, one day that'll be me if I can get my ass in gear. As far as all the safety concerns, just wanted to say thank you to everyone. As to the dog, security system, etc. I 'll be moved out come December, so for now, I think locking doors and being one step ahead will have to do for now. This has also inspired me to buy some NV gear. |
| Sorry to hear about your incident. Good thing that you didn't have to cap some worthless piece of shit. However there is one county close to both of us that has never solved a murder/dumping that I know of w/o a confession. I know I shouldn't say things like that but I couldn't resist. |
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So, Teggy are you saying that if you are sleeping in your bed and someone breaks into your house, that you can't shoot unless you feel threatened? What's the stipulations on get CCW in woodbury anybody know. "Feel threatened" has nothing to do with it. They better be armed with something capable of doing severe bodily harm if you shoot or you will be in jail. A lot of the laws in this state are not for the people. The more Liberal we get the worse it is going to get. |
| Kneecapping leaves room for the perp to sue you. If someone is in my living room running at me and not responding to my comands I am putting him/her down. Now with comming to my home and seeing the door open I would have held back and called a leo because I was not in imediate danger. I would have gotten my weapon from the garage but not swept the house. |
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IA self defense laws or lack there of really sucks. Talk about having to remain a victim and do nothing to preserve your own life. F@cking liberal Democrats. +1 time for a change... the presidential election is one thing, but another is the fight for the congress right here in iowa... if more dems get in this year, we're in serious trouble. vote your ass off! also guys, be careful with this subject. in the end i'd bet very few of you have dealt with a scenario where you're outside with nothing and the perp is inside with all your shit. although i know there are consequences, don't hammer sam too hard for doing what he did or didn't elect to do. while each one of us may have handled it differently, we can all use it as a learning experience and we'd be wise to treat it as such. however, don't get too preachy until you're thrust half prepared or less into a situation that forces you to not only take a nibble of the shit sandwich, but more likely force you to eat the whole thing.... i showed this to my wife, in an effort to inspire both of us to come up with a plan and a contingency to that plan should something happen. i also think this in combination with other factors has inspired my wife to take a self defense course. her friends were reluctant and they didn't go. after she completes it, i bet she can talk them into it. if we get more libs in office crime will go up and i have a feeling we'll all need it... |
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So, Teggy are you saying that if you are sleeping in your bed and someone breaks into your house, that you can't shoot unless you feel threatened? What's the stipulations on get CCW in woodbury anybody know. No, I am not saying what to do or what not to do, I was just trying to inform on some of the ramifications one might face in such an incident by means of what the law states. I can very easily sympathize with Sam, but if it came down to it, this is what you would probably face. Would you want to face charges with a bunch of libs on the jury? We don't have a castle doctrine like Florida, so the law is up to interpretation of the people who would decide your guilt or innocence. Its up to you how you would handle the situation, read and understand the law before you are faced with this type of scenario, talk to a lawyer if you want, to see what he/she says about the contradictive Iowa law. Septic has a stickied post on the Iowa code at the top of the page. My other point was that this one of the issues some sheriffs have with issuing concealed weapons permits. Just because you have the means, it does't give you the authority to act as a LEO. I am no lawyer by any means. Just my $.02 |
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Quoted:
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So, Teggy are you saying that if you are sleeping in your bed and someone breaks into your house, that you can't shoot unless you feel threatened? What's the stipulations on get CCW in woodbury anybody know. No, I am not saying what to do or what not to do, I was just trying to inform on some of the ramifications one might face in such an incident by means of what the law states. I can very easily sympathize with Sam, but if it came down to it, this is what you would probably face. Would you want to face charges with a bunch of libs on the jury? We don't have a castle doctrine like Florida, so the law is up to interpretation of the people who would decide your guilt or innocence. Its up to you how you would handle the situation, read and understand the law before you are faced with this type of scenario, talk to a lawyer if you want, to see what he/she says about the contradictive Iowa law. Septic has a stickied post on the Iowa code at the top of the page. My other point was that this one of the issues some sheriffs have with issuing concealed weapons permits. Just because you have the means, it does't give you the authority to act as a LEO. I am no lawyer by any means. Just my $.02 That's just the mindset that's killing us (Sorry Teggy). Checking your home for an invader shouldn't be "acting like an LEO." It should be "Acting as a concerned citizen defending his/her right to the pursuit of happiness." We've all gotten used to sitting on our thumbs. Then one day some politician looked around and said "hey, we're all sitting on our thumbs. If don't sit on your thumb, you're a criminal." Well, I refuse to sit on my thumb. ETA: Spinning optional. |
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Sam, it's not my mindset to do nothing. But this is the way it is. I am not trying to tell people what or what not to do. I was merely trying to be informative. Taking matters into your own hands will do nothing to promote the cause to change the way the current laws are written, but will be one more statistic in the cause against gun owners, concealed permit holders, and the like. What do you suppose the headline would have been in the Des Moines Redstar?
I honestly can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing as you, but I have not been put in that situation. |