Break In At My Buiding

Black Hole, my artwork.

Just as I thought things were starting to calm down in life, Murphy's law went into action and showed me this was not to be. My apartment building had a break in on Tuesday before noon and the place that got broken into was only 3 doors down from mine. In broad daylight too! I wasn't home like I usually am either so it freaked out.

For those of you who don't know what Murphy's Law is, here is the definition: Murphy's Law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." It's a true set of rules that have been around for decades that I learned about when I went to school for electronics.

Between 11 and 11:30am I left to go pick up my monthly medications. As I walked out to my car I looked at the other apartment doors (just a habit I have) and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, not that I expected to. I got to my car and noticed a strange car parked next to mine.

First I thought to myself; "Oh no, I hope they didn't ding my car door." So I proceeded to check my car to make sure (just in case I could get the license number) that there were no new dents. I wasn't seeing any and when I stood up all of a sudden there was a black teen in the passenger's seat of the car. He had been slumped down talking on a cell phone so I didn't see him at first and we both startled each other. I told him what I was doing and we laughed because we had scared each other.

I walked around to get into my car and saw a larger older black man going through our garbage bin. He was even opening bags and he looked like he had lost something the way he was going through them but he didn't live here. I didn't know him.

So many people go through our garbage bin anymore that it's not unusual to see strangers doing this, especially for cans. I just took note of him, figured the boy was waiting for him and went on my way.

I got back around 12:30PM and my roommate James was home for lunch. He was parked in my spot and when I ran in and asked him why he said just park on the street for now because something was going on. So I did and when I was walking back to my place I saw both our building managers and some neighbors outside and they were talking in a group. Something had to be up!

When I got inside my place James told me when he got home from lunch he saw the door to #5 had been kicked in and the kitchen window was even pried open. He couldn't get the managers to answer him so he called the police. I told him about the strange guys and that the door was fine when I left so we decided it must of happened between those hours. I told him the managers were out there now and James said the police were coming soon.

I went outside and told the managers about the strangers and a couple of other people said they had seen the older black man also and some said they had seen two young black men on another day. I told them when the police came if they wanted to speak to me I would be here.

The police eventually knocked on my door and asked me all kinds of questions. I could certainly ID the younger man if they caught him and they were glad to hear that. Otherwise, I told them all I could and they left to question other residents.

I spied some of my neighbors still talking outdoors so I went to ask them if I missed out on anything. As we chatted I came to the conclusion that since it was rent time (and the apartment wasn't really tossed) it seemed like they knew what they wanted and it may have been someone they knew. They only took the money and a few other items and seemed to know where to look. Of course, that's up to the police to figure out. We're all hoping they don't come back for more.

I was so blessed it wasn't me because if someone broke in here they would have had a field day finding things to take. Still, it was awfully close, too close for comfort as I had cash hidden then.

When I was still living in San Francisco I had a white female crack addict cat burglar (say that 3 times quickly) break into my apartment and I was home. She was on the fire escape coming in my kitchen window and we came face to face. I fought with her until she got away from me out of my front door. I picked her out of a lineup and they got her but the courts (even though this was her 3rd strike for cat burglary) gave her a month in jail with no drug rehab. (They had promised she'd get rehab but that's the way things go these days.)

Still, you only have yourself to blame if you're not careful about your place. Always keep your eyes peeled when you are around your home or property. Most people do not because at home is where we feel the safest and most comfortable. If anything happens out of the ordinary or you find some strangers on your property or at your door be vigilant! They may be dressed up and have the Watch Tower with them but that doesn't mean they aren't faking it to have a look around. Don't tell anyone where you keep your valuables or even if you have them. Use your common sense, these are hard times with even more hard up people.

Keep your eyes opened these days. Stay safe and stay blessed my friends!

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