New Years Eve Visitor

[Monson]

My wife and I sat up on New Years Eve night until midnight so we could welcome in the New Year. We're in our 60's so it's getting harder to make it that long now. We talked a bit and watched the show from Vegas until it was over and then channel surfed since we had napped earlier. At about 2 AM she went to the patio to smoke and have a mocha before bed and I went to the bathroom before bed (old men are allowed!). She took our Lab/Shepherd mix out back to play with our Siberian Husky. I got to the bathroom and got settled in and heard a door rattling and someone shaking and kicking it. My first thought was that my wife locked herself out, but that didn't make sense because the back doors are deadbolts. I stepped to the hall where I could see the patio and there sat my wife happy and smoking. Then I heard the kicking and shaking and banging again. It was coming from the front door. I stepped to the bedroom and grabbed my 1911. I stepped to the front door (which is mostly one way glass and had a huge wreath screwed to it) and tried to see out. I saw the face of a man and that he was trying to break down the front door. The wreath over it was hampering him. I called out "who's there?" When I said it I realized how lame it was. He yelled back "Fabio open the door!!!" My first thought was ...drunk and lost. I yelled back "I don't know any Fabio, go away!" The pounding got worse and the wreath was saving the glass. It occurred to me that I had a single woman on one side and three ladies in their 80's on the other so I dropped the go away idea. I announced "I have a firearm and I will shoot you if you keep this up! Now sit down on the steps and be still!!". At the same time I yelled to my wife , who apparently thought I was yelling at the walls or something, "Dial 911!!!! (we use cell phones and I had left mine in the bathroom) We have someone trying to break in!!". She came in and after a "what???" she dialed 911 only to be put on hold. Sam, my Lab heard the noises at the door and hit it hard wanting a piece of the action. I took about three steps back and at that point I realized this wasn't going to be a close quarters fight, if it came to it, so I left the defense to Sam and stepped quickly to the bedroom and secured my 12 GA shotgun. I got to the front door and Sam wasn't barking, just sniffing. That bothered me a lot. My first thought was about my neighbors and I thought, crap, I'm going to have to find out where this whacko is. The next thing I heard was my wife yell..."Oh my God, he's in the backyard!!". The entire back wall to the patio is glass with a door at each end. The door closest to the kitchen has had lock problems and has been hard to unlock so we use the one closest to the gate to the backyard. I saw my wife make a dive for the door and throw both dead bolts. At the same time the man made a dive for the one near the kitchen while I stepped toward it. He grabbed the doorknob about the time I threw up the shotgun on the other side of the glass and yelled "Freeze!!" 911 answered about then. She gave dispatch the story while I looked at a man through a pane of glass holding a 12 gauge loaded with 3 inch magnum 00 buckshot. He put his hands up and shook them kinda like jazz hands. I said put your hands on the door and don't even move. His hands went to the glass and pressed hard while his eyes looked like pie plates. The dispatcher kept telling my wife not to let him in. My wife kept telling her he wasn't about to come in. When the officers got there, there were three cars. The dispatchers told her to tell me to put away my gun. I pointed to the idiot on the patio and said "Don't even think about moving". I was happy when he shook his head and smiled. I put the shotgun in a corner and waited. Nothing. I saw lights all over in the front yard. I finally opened the front door and yelled "Hey!!". Three officers looked up and I yelled "He's in the backyard!!!". One looked at me and said "Do you live here?"...response "Yeah!!". They went to the backyard, took him and cuffed and searched him and took him out the gate. I opened the back door and yelled "Shut the back gate!" One stayed and I let him in (my wife had put Sam in the bedroom and shut the door when they arrived). He asked my name and address (??). He started back out to the backyard and I told him he could go through the front door, so he headed for it. My wife was on the front porch and as he came out I asked him what he was going to be charged with. He said PI....public intoxication???? I asked if there was anything else...he was walking away at this point..no business card or anything...he yelled back that I could file criminal trespass if I wanted and kept walking. They all piled in their cars and left. I couldn't believe it. I know New Years night is busy but, come on now!!!

[Rangel]

scary situation... you handled it well.

[77346]

PI? How did they know he was intoxicated? I would definitively file criminal trespass against him.

Glad y'all didn't get hurt.

[texanjoker]

Sounds normal charge wise. He sounds like a drunk fool that didn't know where he was. He didn't fight you which is good for his sake. He probably wasn't charged with criminal trespass because he thought he was at his friends house, nobody told him to leave, no prior criminal trespass warning from your house, he didn't see any trespass signs at your house, and was intoxicated to the point he could not care for his safety or the safety of others. They immediately hooked him up and he went to jail. Problem solved. PI in itself usually is the only charge with these guys. Even the PI that merely resists arrest doesn't get that charge added on because he was PI.

NY EVE is nothing but drunks; fights; dwi crashes; parties; shots fired calls, ect. I would have expected one of the LE's to take a short statement from one of you with at least your name, ect. However during the casual brief conversation you probably said enough, and the dispatcher already had your name. Nothing lengthy is needed for a PI, but at least make sure there were not any additional charges or facts needed. Bad table manners possibly, but there may have been other priority calls of this nature or worse pending with no officers clear to respond.

[A-R]

Curious where this occured, generally - city, burbs, rural?

If you'd like to also give general location too - city/county

[Monson]

This happened in a nice and established residential area of Arlington. Very nice older houses as well as upscale residents. My perception is that the perp didn't speak much English, although he may have just not understood through the booze. I found out the next morning that he did open both gates to the backyard and also to our neighbors backyard.

[Chris]

You probably saved his life. If he'd gotten into a house where someone was sleeping and were awakened, they might have shot him dead. Too bad he was probably too drunk to realize how thin that tightrope he was walking actually was.

[Heartland Patriot]

Sounds normal charge wise. He sounds like a drunk fool that didn't know where he was. He didn't fight you which is good for his sake. He probably wasn't charged with criminal trespass because he thought he was at his friends house, nobody told him to leave, no prior criminal trespass warning from your house, he didn't see any trespass signs at your house, and was intoxicated to the point he could not care for his safety or the safety of others. They immediately hooked him up and he went to jail. Problem solved. PI in itself usually is the only charge with these guys. Even the PI that merely resists arrest doesn't get that charge added on because he was PI.

NY EVE is nothing but drunks; fights; dwi crashes; parties; shots fired calls, ect. I would have expected one of the LE's to take a short statement from one of you with at least your name, ect. However during the casual brief conversation you probably said enough, and the dispatcher already had your name. Nothing lengthy is needed for a PI, but at least make sure there were not any additional charges or facts needed. Bad table manners possibly, but there may have been other priority calls of this nature or worse pending with no officers clear to respond.

SNIP "I don't know any Fabio, go away!"

Seems like the homeowner did tell the man to leave.

[texanjoker]

Sounds normal charge wise. He sounds like a drunk fool that didn't know where he was. He didn't fight you which is good for his sake. He probably wasn't charged with criminal trespass because he thought he was at his friends house, nobody told him to leave, no prior criminal trespass warning from your house, he didn't see any trespass signs at your house, and was intoxicated to the point he could not care for his safety or the safety of others. They immediately hooked him up and he went to jail. Problem solved. PI in itself usually is the only charge with these guys. Even the PI that merely resists arrest doesn't get that charge added on because he was PI.

NY EVE is nothing but drunks; fights; dwi crashes; parties; shots fired calls, ect. I would have expected one of the LE's to take a short statement from one of you with at least your name, ect. However during the casual brief conversation you probably said enough, and the dispatcher already had your name. Nothing lengthy is needed for a PI, but at least make sure there were not any additional charges or facts needed. Bad table manners possibly, but there may have been other priority calls of this nature or worse pending with no officers clear to respond.

SNIP "I don't know any Fabio, go away!"

Seems like the homeowner did tell the man to leave.

I stand corrected there, but those are just what ifs as to why the PI charge. PI was the appropriate charge IMO.

[Keith B]

SNIP "I don't know any Fabio, go away!"

Seems like the homeowner did tell the man to leave.

I stand corrected there, but those are just what ifs as to why the PI charge. PI was the appropriate charge IMO.

Unless there were signs of forceable attempted entry, then all they had for the most part was PI. They did ask if you wanted to press charges for criminal tresspass. That is not up to them, but up to you as a homeowner. Personally, since hte guy was removed and if there was no damage to the home, then I would let them handle the PI charge and you don't have to mess with anything. If you press charges, then you may end up in court and have to testify, spending more time, money, etc.

[srothstein]

While I would agree that PI is an appropriate charge and probably let it drop, the officers had a good prima facie case for criminal trespass. One of the legal requirements is crossing a fence line that is designed to keep people out or livestock in. Since he entered the backyard through a gate in the fence, this legal requirement is met.

I think the attitude of the officers sounds abominable. I know exactly how busy it gets on a New Year's Eve. One officer could have stopped for a minute and explained to the OP why they would charge for PI and what the requirements for trespass are. If the OP wanted to file the charge, the officer could have done it during the booking for him. This is simply good customer service and treating the victim of the crime politely.

[Monson]

Actually, they didn't ask. The officer had brushed past my wife and me at the front door and as he was crossing the front lawn I called after him "what are you going to charge him with?"...he called back PI. Then he stopped and called back.."unless you want to come down and file criminal trespass". I called back.."what do you think?" and he called back "I wouldn't".

[texanjoker]

Actually, they didn't ask. The officer had brushed past my wife and me at the front door and as he was crossing the front lawn I called after him "what are you going to charge him with?"...he called back PI. Then he stopped and called back.."unless you want to come down and file criminal trespass". I called back.."what do you think?" and he called back "I wouldn't".

As fast as that was, it sounds like you briefly discussed it. Poor table manners, yes. That did save you from going down and doing a sworn statement, ect. Now if you had used lethal force you would be insistent on every possible charge being filed.

[Monson]

I consciously made that choice when it started happening. I drew the line at the outside wall of the house. Outside the glass. Had he crossed the line that would have been it. I recall thinking at some point that his life was as thin as a piece of glass.

[texanjoker]

I consciously made that choice when it started happening. I drew the line at the outside wall of the house. Outside the glass. Had he crossed the line that would have been it. I recall thinking at some point that his life was as thin as a piece of glass.

It sounds like you handled it perfrectly