Wifey had close call !!

[scesnick]

My wife grew up in Wv. She has always hunted and enjoyed firearms since she was a child. And since we live way back on a farm, our first line of defense is not the police (15 minute response time at a minimum) but our own ability to defend ourself.

A while back while I was at work, wifey was home with our kids alone at about 4:00pm. A white van pulled up in our garage parking area. He drove 2.5 miles from the nearest hardtop road and passed three "No Trespassing" signs.
Wifey said he just sat there a minute. My truck was gone and wifey's car was in the garage so i guess it appeared that no one was home.
Wifey grabbed her M&P 9mm and headed out to see what was up with this guy. She was about 30 ft from his van when she yelled if she could help him with something. She had the 9mm behind her back at the time. He didn't say anything, but got out of his van and stood there for a minute so she repeated herself. He then looked around for a second, still not saying anything, then took a step or two towards her. She then put the 9mm in front of her, (but didn't point it at him) and told the man that he better just get in his van and leave.
He then came up was some B.S. story about looking for my neighbors house ( which is 2.5 miles away) she said again to get in his van and get out.The neighbor has no idea who this would have been.

After she told me what happened she told me that before she went outside she gave our two girls age 8&9 yrs old her cell phone and to watch out the window and if anything happens to call 911 and run out the back door and into the woods and not to stop until they get to the bottom of the mountain ( our friends house)

I'm telling you guys this just as a reminder to be sure your better half has a plan if something like this ever happens to them when you are not at home.

I really can't think of any way Wifey could have handled this situation any better. Yes, maybe she should have just stayed in the house with the gun ready but it just isn't her nature to sit quietly by while someone robs us blind. Either way I am super proud of how she handled herself.. Gotta love those West Virginia women.

 

[scoutcub]

Wow. What a great woman! Well prepared with a good home defense plan.
Curious - Did she happen to get the plate # as he left? Did she report it to the police? I'm sure they couldn't do anything, but maybe it was a stolen vehicle, or this guy had a record of theft...wouldn't hurt to let them know about it.
Definitely a case for the "driveway alarms".....:thumbsup:
Glad all worked out well....

 

[moored4]

All I can say is :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: and hope she got the plate #.

 

[Fixemall]

People that are lost or looking for an address do not get out of their vehicle, watch your area and keep an eye on the kids.

 

[scesnick]

People that are lost or looking for an address do not get out of their vehicle, watch your area and keep an eye on the kids.

Yeah, that was our thinking also. This happened a few months ago but it came up on another site and I thought I would share it here also.
We did report it but nothing can really be done about it. I have a feeling he was looking for something to steal for money and he thought no one was home when he first pulled in. A lot of that going on around here lately.
I also think he decided not to push his luck in my area and looked for an easier target. I didn't mention my two very large farm dogs that got in between this guy and my wife. She said he did take notice of the dogs and their "less than welcoming" demeanor.. lol.

Oh, no tag #, I guess she just didn't think of it at the time...

 

[Thomas]

Thats a true mother!!
Hope the good words spread around,and that knothead gone for good.

 

[rsewill]

Glad this turned out so well.

I have advised my wife and kids to always get a plate number as long as it is safely done. Scratch it in the dirt if need be. We had a junior high student kidnapped a number of years ago (before my kids attended the school) on the country road near where he lived. He was with two friends, neither of whom (understandably) grabbed the plate. The child has never been found.

I do agree that your wife should have stayed in the house and not answered the door. Much safer. But she did have the presence of mind to tell the kids what to do.

 

[JDgreen227]

Smart woman, knew what to do and how to do it. While it MAY have been better for her to stay in the house, by being bold and confronting the intruder she may have made him think twice or thrice about his next intrusion. Too bad she didn't have a spare cell phone camera to snap his picture when she went out. We keep an older, unactivated phone with a camera near the door just in case we need a picture for some reason.

Very happy to learn all went well, be proud of her.

 

[creekbend]

I am sincerely glad that everything worked out. Thanks for posting. As you previously stated and suggested, when one lives in a rural area, it is most definitely a sound idea to have a plan in case one encounters a situation like your Wife did. Especially when one lives far off the beaten path. I "tip my hat" to your Wife in the way that she conducted yourself. :thumbsup:

 

[Alien]

Personally I think that the fact she confronted him shows that she is not a ***** and that action alone would have been a prime deterrent up front.
A bloke will usually go out and confront someone. He won't hide in the house, at least I wouldn't. Why suggest a woman does this? Her actions prevented the guy from getting to the house where her kids were and at the same time gave them every chance of escape if the worst scenario eventuated.
I congratulate her on her cool thinking and actions.

 

[lockhaven]

Very smart, this is what most burglars do in rural areas, the guy who robbed my house would do just that. He would pull in sit for a while next step is to knock normally on the door, next step beat on the door. If no answer then break in. I know this because the first time he tried it I could not get to the door fast enough because of an arthritis flare up in my knees. By the time I made the door he was beating on it. I opened the door and he made up the same excuse looking for someone else. The last time I was not home.
Good thing the wife had the firearm with out it things could have been very bad. Again just the presence of a firearm saved her and your children.

 

[strum456]

Thanks for sharing. No doubt, it was a good thing your wife was armed. It may be a good time to take her out shooting if her skills are a little old.

My wife can shoot quite accurately with a pistol, but I would not want her to approach someone like that. She doesn't have the experience (in my opinion) to think on her feet in a situation like that. I try to get her to practice about once a year, which isn't often enough.

 

[dmccarty]

We have had similar situations as our house is at the end of a private road and past a gate with multiple posted signs.

Sometimes you can get the plate. Sometimes you can't. Filing the report is important since the vehicle might be a lead for other crimes.

Our front porch and house is designed such that the floor in the house is higher than the porch. This puts us at a height advantage which is a subtle psychological "step" above the person on the porch.

Our standard policy is to NOT go out to meet strangers. If they come to the door we talk through the door which is glass. If it is hard to hear the person we open a casement window, which because of the house design, is about five feet above the level of the porch. An attacker could wrench up the window and climb in but that would take time...

Staying in the house has many advantages.
- It is much more defensible.
- If the person is going to be a bad actor they have to attack the house to get to you. This buys you time.
- By attacking the house this proves the person was the aggressor and not you.
- Legal penalties generally increase substantially if someone breaks into a house to commit a crime. If the person attacks you in the driveway it is likely a misdemeanor but if they break into the house to attack you they just jumped into a felony.
- Depending on the state law, Castle Doctrine comes into play in the house which is to the homeowners advantage. Why give up these huge civil and criminal law advantages?

Later,
Dan

 

[beppington]

I would suggest you get a gate with an electric opener. I know it won't actually stop somebody from coming in, but if they do you'll know for sure it was no accident that they're at your house, & you could avoid the risk of coming out to face them, ie yell at them thru a window or door instead.

Home Depot sells Mighty Mule brand gate openers, & offer an optional solar battery charger. I installed one here over 5 years ago; it's great. We got tired of surprise knocks on our front door, either from beggars, "can I borrow a couple gallons of gas", religious folks wanting to save me, or even friends showing up unannounced (we prefer to have a little warning when company's coming!)

 

[MoKelly]

You obviously are (and should be) proud of your wife. I'm sure it makes your being gone a little easier knowing your wife can take care of herself and your kids.

Nevertheless, it is a scary event. Real shame there are people in this world like that.

MoKelly

 

[TripleR]

Glad to hear everything worked out so well. My wife a good shot and has a CCW permit, but she is just too trusting and I have an awful time getting her to have a gun with her.

 

[jmunn]

Good for her!!!! Glad everything went well. We need more people like her. Maybe the crime rate would drop!!!!

 

[greasemonkeyok]

1st danger sign: van.
2nd danger sign: pulled up & didn't get out.
3rd danger sign: "looking for neighbor".

Based on experience, questions to ask:

Who are you looking for? (What is his name? If he doesn't know, really bad sign.)

What is your name? If he hesitates - really bad sign. But, some of these folks have aliases they use. So, you have to ask it again in a few minutes, then say "thats not the name you gave me a while ago" whether it is or isn't.

I'm uncomfortable with your answers, show me your driver's license.

This question/command is usually one that these folks associate with law enforcement. When you ask it, they have a dilemma, comply or run. Last guy I asked to see his drivers license started backing up and then quickly jumped in his vehicle and sped off.:laughing:

 

[jonyyuma]

Just Glad she handled it and was okay. I don't want mine to go outside..If he beats on door call the law and wait..If the break in then all BETS are off??If I am home I just wait quietly, with the short rifle..

 

[Dr_Zinj]

scesnick; you got lucky, or your wife did.

We had a gentleman up here in NH about 2 years ago now who had a similar situation.

He'd had major surgery a couple weeks earlier, lived on a remote farm.

Trespasser came up the past all the posted and keep out signs, after being told not to go there in the first place. The guy came out with gun, holstered, yelling at trespasser to turn around and get out. Trespasser eventually left, but as the guy was going back up the steps to the house, he took his gun out, made sure it was on safe, and round not in the chamber before going back inside.

Trespasser took him to court for brandishing his weapon and threatening her on his own property.

Court found against him and sent him to prison, maximum sentence because it involved a firearm.

Governor commuted sentence after 6 months, but refused to pardon the "felony".

We're the "Live Free or Die" state. Trouble is, too many people don't know or understand the rest of General John Stark's toast. The other half reads, "Death is not the worst of evils."