Bad boys, whatcha gonna do?
Jun. 17th, 2003 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judecorpToday was a very action-packed day. I am on a caffiene buzz, but that's nothing compared to the rest of the day that started out very blah. Jen and I woke up very tired, and neither of us wanted to get out of bed. She finally crawled out and got ready for work, and I needed the bunny to motivate myself up. I went to work and, as usual, no one wanted to see me. I ate some nasty ice cream (lemon merangue). Nothing out of the ordinary.
At 1:00, I met Jennifer at the landlord's to sign our new lease and pay the deposit. When we were finished, I was walking her to her car. She gave me a hug and we were idly chatting, and this young guy walked past us. He turned around and came back and asked me if I knew where Summit Street was. So I started telling him, and he grabbed my wallet and keys (they're attached) out of my hand, said, "Thank you!" and ran.
Yes. He said, "Thank you."
So Jen starts running after him, until he ducks into my landlord's driveway, hops on a pickup truck, and jumps a fence. Jen yells, "Son of a bitch" into the air while I call 911 and give (I think) a damned good description of the turd who took my wallet. My landlord's assistant comes out and we tell her what happened, and she makes a quick call and arranges for someone to change my apartment lock (since my ID with my address was attached to my key). In some miraculous feat of competence, police cars begin driving by and the helicopter starts circling. After about 6 minutes, CPD calls me back to tell me they have a suspect and I need to identify him. An officer comes and picks Jen and I up.
We go to the alley (Wall Street) near Clark Place and there are a billion police cars. They ask my last name and what my wallet looks like, and they ask me if it's the guy. I see a guy, but he's wearing a different shirt. So I tell them it looks like him, but my guy was wearing a long sleeved shirt. They tell me he had a long sleeved shirt but he took it off. They showed me the shirt. I was like, "I'm not 100% sure about the guy, but /that's/ the shirt." So we tell our story a million times, and then the police tell me that there are two witnesses who need to ID the guy. Come to find out, these two guys happened to see the suspect throwing my wallet into a dumpster.
They ID the guy, and when he gets closer, we ID the guy. My wallet is produced, and I give them a list of everything in it, and it's obviously mine. They take pictures, and then they take more statements, and they bring the guy closer because they're cuffing him and transfering him to another car. At this point, I decide to make eye contact with him. INTENSE. I stare at him, and he stares at me, and there is absolutely no doubt it is him, because he looks at me with total contempt and then shakes his head. Dumbass.
The Robbery Detective (Detective Junk, no joke) comes and takes another report, and takes pictures of my license and my credit cards, and then gives me my stuff back. My friend the wallet thief, who got nothing because I don't ever have cash in my wallet, will now be charged with Grand Theft - a Felony 4. (It's not Agg. Robbery - a Felony 3 - because he didn't push me or hit me or have a weapon.) Idiot.
So my half hour lunch break took three hours. And I had to pee so badly, because I forgot to go before I left. But I will never carry my wallet like that again, and I don't know how long I'll keep my keys attached to my wallet. But once I got back to work, things were nutty because I'd been gone so long. On top of that, I had to call the squad for a sick guy and convince him to go to a nursing home after, and then two guys got put out for fighting, and then everyone wanted to talk to me, so I didn't leave until after 7. By the time I crawled to Jen's, she offered to take me to Crap CityTM, and I agreed.
But then, in the Crap CityTM parking lot, I got a call for a job interview. A woman who used to work at my job (and now works elsewhere) offered to forward resumes, and I guess she gave me a good introduction. Right now I'm pretty picky about jobs (I want my current salary, I require LISW supervision, they have to be cool with my appearance, etc.), but we'll see what happens. :)
At 1:00, I met Jennifer at the landlord's to sign our new lease and pay the deposit. When we were finished, I was walking her to her car. She gave me a hug and we were idly chatting, and this young guy walked past us. He turned around and came back and asked me if I knew where Summit Street was. So I started telling him, and he grabbed my wallet and keys (they're attached) out of my hand, said, "Thank you!" and ran.
Yes. He said, "Thank you."
So Jen starts running after him, until he ducks into my landlord's driveway, hops on a pickup truck, and jumps a fence. Jen yells, "Son of a bitch" into the air while I call 911 and give (I think) a damned good description of the turd who took my wallet. My landlord's assistant comes out and we tell her what happened, and she makes a quick call and arranges for someone to change my apartment lock (since my ID with my address was attached to my key). In some miraculous feat of competence, police cars begin driving by and the helicopter starts circling. After about 6 minutes, CPD calls me back to tell me they have a suspect and I need to identify him. An officer comes and picks Jen and I up.
We go to the alley (Wall Street) near Clark Place and there are a billion police cars. They ask my last name and what my wallet looks like, and they ask me if it's the guy. I see a guy, but he's wearing a different shirt. So I tell them it looks like him, but my guy was wearing a long sleeved shirt. They tell me he had a long sleeved shirt but he took it off. They showed me the shirt. I was like, "I'm not 100% sure about the guy, but /that's/ the shirt." So we tell our story a million times, and then the police tell me that there are two witnesses who need to ID the guy. Come to find out, these two guys happened to see the suspect throwing my wallet into a dumpster.
They ID the guy, and when he gets closer, we ID the guy. My wallet is produced, and I give them a list of everything in it, and it's obviously mine. They take pictures, and then they take more statements, and they bring the guy closer because they're cuffing him and transfering him to another car. At this point, I decide to make eye contact with him. INTENSE. I stare at him, and he stares at me, and there is absolutely no doubt it is him, because he looks at me with total contempt and then shakes his head. Dumbass.
The Robbery Detective (Detective Junk, no joke) comes and takes another report, and takes pictures of my license and my credit cards, and then gives me my stuff back. My friend the wallet thief, who got nothing because I don't ever have cash in my wallet, will now be charged with Grand Theft - a Felony 4. (It's not Agg. Robbery - a Felony 3 - because he didn't push me or hit me or have a weapon.) Idiot.
So my half hour lunch break took three hours. And I had to pee so badly, because I forgot to go before I left. But I will never carry my wallet like that again, and I don't know how long I'll keep my keys attached to my wallet. But once I got back to work, things were nutty because I'd been gone so long. On top of that, I had to call the squad for a sick guy and convince him to go to a nursing home after, and then two guys got put out for fighting, and then everyone wanted to talk to me, so I didn't leave until after 7. By the time I crawled to Jen's, she offered to take me to Crap CityTM, and I agreed.
But then, in the Crap CityTM parking lot, I got a call for a job interview. A woman who used to work at my job (and now works elsewhere) offered to forward resumes, and I guess she gave me a good introduction. Right now I'm pretty picky about jobs (I want my current salary, I require LISW supervision, they have to be cool with my appearance, etc.), but we'll see what happens. :)
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 06:59 pm (UTC)I'm glad you got your wallet back. Things like that totally suck.
Wow, incredibly articulate, Abby.
PS
Date: 2003-06-17 07:04 pm (UTC)Not to say that your wallet shouldn't be Columbus PD's top priority, but that seems like an interesting way to spend tax payers money... do you feel like it was necessary, or did you get the impression that it helped stop the guy?
PS
Date: 2003-06-17 07:10 pm (UTC)The PD here is pretty free with the helicopter... I see it around the area fairly frequently. Maybe they have nothing else to use it on. Either way, I'm pretty sure it was a big part of what found the guy, because the guy was running through all of the back alleys and it would have been hard for cars to speed through looking for him.
PS
Date: 2003-06-17 07:13 pm (UTC)And that's probably a good point - I imagine they dispatch the helicopter for other reasons, and if it's in the area, all the better.
Re: PS
Date: 2003-06-17 07:17 pm (UTC)You didn't sound like a jerk - it was a good question. I imagine the helicopter /did/ come from taxpayer money, but it's probably paid for now, so they might as well use it.
Re: PS
Date: 2003-06-17 08:12 pm (UTC)Teresa and I worked with it back in January while we were tailing a drunk driver and the police dispatcher was relaying messages between us and the helo crew. I worked with it back in September when it and several foot patrolmen (and me, and a bunch of kids who gave up their soccer game) were trying to locate, corner, apprehend a suspected drug dealer in a park.
It's probably not paid off (it's amazing how expensive the machines, flight time, and maintenance can be), but amortized to such a degree that the cost of its use is all but imperceptable to the taxpayer.
Re: PS
Date: 2003-06-18 05:22 am (UTC)Re: PS
Date: 2003-06-18 09:44 pm (UTC)Re: PS
Date: 2003-06-19 06:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 07:12 pm (UTC)I'm glad it got resolved and you got a job interview.
I hope it all works out!
no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 07:16 pm (UTC)When the interviewer woman called, she asked how I was. I was like, "Umm, I've had better days."
no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 07:18 pm (UTC)Crazy.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 07:58 pm (UTC)I wish mine could be filled with foot chases through alleys, police helicopters, dozens of squad cars, and contemptful wannabe felons like yours. The only thing missing is the 1970's Starsky and Hutch chase music playing in the background!
no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 11:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-17 09:09 pm (UTC)Anyway, I'm really glad you got your wallet back AND that the guy was caught AND that you weren't hurt in the process.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 07:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 12:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:19 am (UTC)Having a cell phone, I believe, is the only reason I got my stuff back. And it would have been a huge hassle to have to cancel all of my cards and get new ID while trying to move and losing my job. Lucky.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:24 am (UTC)I am floored that he said "Thank you." That really infuriates me. I'm glad the cops caught him and you got your wallet back. In the middle of moving and job hunting, you really don't need that aggravation!
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:44 am (UTC)Either way, it all worked out. Thelandlord had to change my lock, but since I'm moving in a couple of days, I don't think he'll charge me. He would have changed the lock for the new tenant anyway.
Action-packed indeed
Date: 2003-06-18 06:01 am (UTC)CPD is inconsistent...they can be very good or very bad. Reminds me of two experiences I've had. One was last fall when some drunken car thief crashed a Chevy Suburban into the back of our house at 3 in the morning. He damaged the car but not the house. There were 4 police cars there very quickly, and they had a chopper in the air (although I doubt the chopper did any good unless he was dashing down the middle of the street).
On the other hand, there was the time when I called 911 because I heard what sounded like a woman screaming across the street. I called several times, they kept on saying a cruiser was on the way, but as far as I know they never showed up.
I guess they stand a much better chance of getting an arrest and conviction in cases of purse/wallet snatching than cases of D.V. Not that it's an excuse.
Ethical question: given the lifelong effect it can have, would you want the guy to have a felony charge? Obviously, you don't know what his past history is. Although if you got his name you could look him up on DRC and FCMC.
Re: Action-packed indeed
Date: 2003-06-18 06:31 am (UTC)And you're right about the CPD, and about PDs in general. They don't seem to take DV seriously, and they don't respond quickly enough in certain areas. That is a travesty.
As for the guy, and the felony charge... I actually paused and thought about it when they asked me if I wanted to prosecute. And then I paused again when they asked me if it was the guy, and I told them I wasn't sure (even though I was). Given the fact that it will be difficult for him to obtain a job with his felony charge (if the charges don't get dropped or whatever), yeah, I feel bad.
But I didn't choose to give him a felony charge. He did the minute he took my wallet.
Re: Action-packed indeed
Date: 2003-06-18 05:41 pm (UTC)About a year ago, my car was broken into, and my CD player was stolen. Also stolen were a backpack containing my cell phone, work pager (and I had just STARTED the damn job), and various books/notebooks. I lost a couple of irreplaceable class notes. And it was a pain replacing the cell phone. Fortunately, insurance did cover the CD player and a new window.
After being angry, I was curious. Did the person do it for drugs? Was it a career thing, or a one-off?(the CD player did seem to have been skillfully removed) Where was it sold, and where did the money go?
I never had an intense desire for the culprit to go to prison. I would have settled for my stuff back/damage paid for, an apology, and answers to the above questions.
Re: Action-packed indeed
Date: 2003-06-18 05:46 pm (UTC)However, I believe that stealing is wrong. There are examples I can think of where I think that stealing is excusable... but I don't think this was one of those times. I think the guy was a doofus who tried to take advantage of me. I think he made a poor choice.
I'm glad he was caught, because that means I got my wallet back. I'm also glad he was caught because he didn't get any money from me, and that means he probably would have tried to rob someone else. And maybe he would have knocked someone down or hit someone. Who knows?
Either way, I don't care if he gets a felony charge or a misdemeanor charge. But I care that he thought it was okay to take my wallet. Yep.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 06:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 06:33 am (UTC)Me, too. And I will likely continue to, because while I probably /should/ be more careful, I don't want to. I don't want to walk around with victim mentality.
It just makes me laugh a little bit, because my mom gave me crap when I used to be in NYC, and she used to /really/ worry when I lived in the Dorchester area of Boston, but I got my wallet stolen next to some big, fancy houses in Columbus. Go fig.
But yes, one can never be too cautious. I will keep a firmer hold on my things.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 07:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 11:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 11:49 am (UTC)I don't really have anything to say that everyone else hasn't already.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 03:24 pm (UTC)I'm glad you got your wallet back. Even your bad-things-happening days make me smile when I read about them, though I'm still scratching my head that the guy said thank you.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-18 05:30 pm (UTC)Yeah. It totally blows my mind that the little turd said thank you. Dumbass. Grrrr! Judezilla!