Very glad your conversation was peaceful. Next time might want to consider calling the Law first - the situation could have gone very differently.
David
NM
I agree. I was on my way back from my daughter's college graduation when I got the call from my brother-in-law who was at my house saying a sketchy guy was parked in our front yard (yard; not driveway). I told him right away to call the cops. Then he calls back and said the guy walked up to my door, knocked, then started to turn the handle just as my b.i.l. opened the door. He said the guy was out of his mind and just asked, "Is this where I'm supposed to be?" He answered, "No." That's when he got back in his car, opened the gate going to my parents' property, and proceeded to drive through their yard (not up their driveway). When I got that update I was at the bottom of my parents' driveway and knew my parents were home and unaware, so I made the decision to go up and make sure they were ok. As I walked up to their house the man and his dog were coming back around from their back yard.
Here's the thing: he didn't act like he was doing anything wrong, and didn't think he was. In his mind, everything he was doing was completely normal. Our conversation went like this:
Me: Hey, how's it going?
Him: Doing alright. Who are you?
Me: Who are you?
Him: My name is Joe.
Me: What are you up to?
Him: Oh nothing much. Just taking my dog for a walk. I was up at the antique store looking at antiques and they kept looking suspicious at me. . . . . You know, you're kinda looking suspicious at me.
Me: Well, you're up in someone else's yard walking around with your dog. That's kind of suspicious.
Him: . . . Well, I guess I'll be going.
Me: Sounds good.
Then he gets in his car with his dog and drives back across the yard (not down the driveway) back to my house where the cops have just arrived and have him blocked in. I don't know if they had probable cause to search his vehicle right away or had to wait for him to say something or get a warrant, but they talked with him for a full hour (the last half cuffed), and lots of back and forth with someone at headquarters, before getting into the car.
"Is your dog friendly? I need to get in the back and don't want to get bit."
"If she bites you, you can shoot her."
Once they popped the trunk and saw what was inside, man, the looks on their face and the tone of things quickly changed.
They said he told them 100 different stories and none made sense. Scary, and sad.
