Doggonit, I failed to follow my own rule, and paid the price. During the wee hours of the morning yesterday, my neighborhood was nailed by a vandalism spree. The morons responsible for these crimes drove around smashing car windows with a golf club, or something similar. We’ve had about 45 of these reported. The numbskulls responsible for this spree may have been driving a light colored (gray, silver, beige?) Chevy Cavalier with a loud exhaust.
After scrupulously parking my old pickup up in the driveway for the days around Halloween, I left it in the street Wednesday night. My standard advice has always been to get your vehicles into the drive as much as you can, because they are much less likely to be targets for vandalism or theft.
I was watching the news on our local ABC affiliate, KLKN, when they ran this story last night. That’s my pickup they recorded for the B-roll. Apparently someone went out to collect a little video, and found my truck on the street before I could get home and clean up the mess. Bet the reporter wishes she had known that was the police chief’s Chevy.
I sure wish I had heeded my own advice on Thursday. That would have saved me about $400, an hour of cleanup, and a headache. Dagnabit.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
At least you closed your garage door and put your pumpkin inside.
These...I don't know what I can call them here...creeps, I guess, will undoubtedly need to brag about their misdeeds to someone. Hopefully, either the CrimeStopper reward or just doing the right thing will inspire one of their confidants to come forward and turn them in to the authorities. The really sad part, even worse than their actions, is that little or nothing will be done about it. The victims will not be reimbursed, and the criminals will get nothing more than a slap on the wrist (unless by some chance they are adults). Anyone old enough to do this kind of thing is old enough to spend a few years in the slammer. And, any money they make, if they ever get a job should go first to the victims of their crimes.
Chief:
I'm sure you know this, but many families have more vehicles than can fit in their driveways. When our kids were still home, we were in that boat, and both of their vehicles were vandalized similarly in separate incidents. In one case the perps were caught...so what...we still paid to have the tail lights and tires replaced.
I hope you don't suffer the indiginity of people telling you it was your own fault because you failed to take adequate protective measures.
"I hope you don't suffer the indignity of people telling you it was your own fault because you failed to take adequate protective measures."
He's already admitted that himself. At least he didn't leave his car running in a driveway, while he ran inside a house for several minutes, or left a gear bag with a firearm and a radio transceiver in it under a bus stop bench, or drove drunk on a habitual basis after telling people not to drive drunk.
In any case, state law does need modified to allow easier aggregation of multiple individual offenses in a spree vandalism or car prowl theft onto a hefty felony criminal mischief charge. Prosecutors also need to quit plea dealing just to get a minor conviction.
It's 'your fault' for leaving a vehicle parked on the street? No. It's the idiot vandals fault for the damage. Quit giving them an excuse for their bad behavior.
I know the Chief's pain...my wife's car got hit last fall about this time. I didn't get off quite as cheap as he did though...cost us about $450.
And as I learned then, even if the police catch the punks and are about 99% sure they know said punks are responsible for the damage, without proof linking them to the damage, the victims are up a smelly, brown creek when it comes to seeking compensation.
No, the Chief did not admit it was his own fault. He simply admitted failing to follow his own advice and having to pay the price for it. There's a huge difference. Some people seem to think that crime is okay if the victim hasn't taken extreme measures to prevent it. That's bull! Crime is crime, and no one should be made to feel guilty for simply failing (or choosing not) to take precautionary measures. They may wish they had, but it doesn't make it any less of a crime. It would be like saying a woman deserved to be raped because her cleavage was showing or someone deserved to be murdered because they left a loaded gun unlocked somewhere in their own house.
I am that "reporter" I wish I would have known I was even knocking on the door waiting for the resident to answer. Wouldn't it have been funny if Mrs. Chief Casady came to the door! :)
I don't condone thievery, but I can at least understand it. The thief's risk of arrest (or maybe getting neat down or even shot dead by the property owner) is offset by the possibility of an tangible gain of property or money.
Vandalism, on the other hand, makes no sense from a risk vs reward perspective. The risk of arrest (or serious bodily injury/death) isn't matched to any degree by the possibility of any tangible reward. The vandal has to be at least somewhat mentally ill to see that, yet still commit the crime.
If they just want a cheap thrill and the risk of serious bodily injury and/or a violent death, that can be had in many different ways, without the risk of an arrest.
Even vandalism can be hazardous. I think there was a case in Lincoln a few years back where some teens were destroying mailboxes by driving by and hitting them with a golf club or baseball bat. That night the bat/club broke and speared the vandal and he died. Not quite the cheap thrill those kids planned on. I am sure the parents are still grieving.
Gun Nut
I will never understand this type of behavior. Years ago when I was living in Ohio, the neighbor woke me up knocking on the door at 6 AM, to tell me my truck had been broken into. All up and down the street, in a zig-zag pattern, cars had their windows bashed in (every other car on each side of the packed street), in all about 60 cars. Nothing was taken from any of those cars, even though many people had things on the seats, simply someone breaking out windows for "fun". Sickening.
Cheif, go gettem and people keep your eyes and ears open.
What's the matter with kids?
Thank you officers for being out there and protecting us.
Denise
Gun Nut-
November 17, 2002. It was a three-wood.
It's almost like failing to replace your boat's drain plug before putting the boat back in the water. One time is all it takes.
Post a Comment