Was I cased?

[MyGlockRocks19]

But the question is: Would you where those cool night vision glasses you have on in your avatar?

Unfortunately, they look extremely conspicuous unless only worn on a certain weekend in April...

But I am military trained....if you count the time my dad (who was a Petty Officer in the Navy) spent lecturing me on gun safety.

 

[VUPDblue]

I live in Marion County, and the IMPD folks on this beat know me well...

 

[jblomenberg16]

It wasn't "trash night" was it? We have some of the same behavior here in my neighborhood the night before the trash collection. From just before dusk, until about 2 am or later, there are any number of "opportunists" out looking for treasure.

There are 2 minivans, and a handful of trucks that I see weekly. I get the same bit of concern as you do though. Are they waiting to see if I leave the garage door open on accident, and then help themselves to more than what I left out on the curb?

Most nights I'm up till around 1am or so working on MBA coursework (interspersed with INGO, like tonight ), so I get to see and hear the suspicious vehicles drive by. On more than on occasion I've gotten up from the laptop and prepared to investigate further. All have been false alarms so far, with similar slow drive-bys with a flashlight looking to see if there is anything for a quick grab-n-go.

It does help that there are 3 State Police offiers that live on my street, that have their car's parked for all to see. As you go around the corner from our house in either direction, there are other city police officers with cars present. Not that they are going to be able to do anything about it if they are in bed sleeping, but I'm sure it does at least weed out some of the less gutsy crooks from driving through...

 

[El Cazador]

I live in Marion County, and the IMPD folks on this beat know me well...

Still, Brownsburg, Clermont, and the West Side of Indy are all within a 15 minute drive of each other. There's been a number of theft rings operating from the West Side lately, thieving from construction sites and from neighborhoods for power equipment and tools.

 

[Boilers]

Google Maps "NIGHT" ... coming soon in beta.

 

[JustGone]

Its the REPO man trying to get ur car!

 

[MountainDewed]

VUPD I had a similar experience last Friday night, I was taking my dog outside (she woke up and wanted out) when I noticed a truck I did not recognize driving very slowly down my road(I live way out in the country)with a spotlight shining it at the neighbors across the street and then towards my property. I put the dog inside and hung out in a secluded corner and had a smoke just to waste some time and here comes the same truck this time shining the light directly at my house. It stopped in the middle of the road so I stepped out from behind the evergreens with flashlight in hand and pistol unholstered but pointed at the ground at my side and told them to wait there. As I approached the truck I could smell pot(yes I know what that smells like I was young and dumb once) I stepped just behind the drivers door and asked them what they were doing. The guy in the passenger seat said he lost his Beagle and they were looking for it. I figured all was good and told them it probably wasn\'t a good idea to be shining a spot light on peoples houses, as they pulled away I noticed they had a 64 tag on their plate which is 2 counties over, figured they must have friends out here or something. I get the paper Monday morning and read about 2 homes within 3 miles of mine that were broken into over the weekend both were new construction and all the appliances and all wiring and plumbing were stolen. I wish I would have paid attention to the plate number. I called the Sheriff after i read the story and gave him a description of the guys and the truck I hope it helped. No matter what your wife or anybody says sometimes paranoia is a good thing.

 

[Bigum1969]

VUPD I had a similar experience last Friday night, I was taking my dog outside (she woke up and wanted out) when I noticed a truck I did not recognize driving very slowly down my road(I live way out in the country)with a spotlight shining it at the neighbors across the street and then towards my property. I put the dog inside and hung out in a secluded corner and had a smoke just to waste some time and here comes the same truck this time shining the light directly at my house. It stopped in the middle of the road so I stepped out from behind the evergreens with flashlight in hand and pistol unholstered but pointed at the ground at my side and told them to wait there. As I approached the truck I could smell pot(yes I know what that smells like I was young and dumb once) I stepped just behind the drivers door and asked them what they were doing. The guy in the passenger seat said he lost his Beagle and they were looking for it. I figured all was good and told them it probably wasn\'t a good idea to be shining a spot light on peoples houses, as they pulled away I noticed they had a 64 tag on their plate which is 2 counties over, figured they must have friends out here or something. I get the paper Monday morning and read about 2 homes within 3 miles of mine that were broken into over the weekend both were new construction and all the appliances and all wiring and plumbing were stolen. I wish I would have paid attention to the plate number. I called the Sheriff after i read the story and gave him a description of the guys and the truck I hope it helped. No matter what your wife or anybody says sometimes paranoia is a good thing.

Interesting. Paranoia can be healthy indeed.

 

[55spartan]

My guess is they were searching for something or someone, maybe a missing dog?? However, if your little voice is going off-- LISTEN TO IT.

 

[1032JBT]

VUPD.........It means nothing what anyone else thinks about if you were being cased......it only matters what YOU think. If you think you were then you were and should take the proper precautions.


Good Luck

 

[bwframe]

Been there done that. Paranoid or not, the cams are a great idea.

Years ago, I told a buddy (boss) about my driveway cams. Later, he had a car stolen from his rural home. He immediately came to me to set up a system for him. We did and three weeks later he had vid of another attempt to steal a car. Long story short, the thieves were caught.

 

[Mgderf]

"Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you"!

Good Luck, and stay safe!

 

[slacker]

It looked suspicious to me, I meen who spots your house with a flash light at 1:30 in the morning???? they sure as heck were not out shining deer!!!. just my two cents worth.

But they could have been looking for a lost dog etc.

Have you ever seen the vehicle around your neighbourhood before?

 

[Hoosier Gun Coat]

So after some trouble in the neighborhood, I installed a camera and DVR system. 3 cameras record the front of my house. I was randomly looking at some footage just now of last night and I saw a truck drive by very slowly, shine a flashlight at my property and keep going. They never came back, but it looked fishy as heck, especially at 0130 this morning. Lemme know what you think...

ETA: The video stored on my HDD and viewed on my HDTV is darn near theater quality, this video doesn't do my system justice, but you still can make out the make and model of vehicle.

Suspicious Truck 8-19-09 video by vupdblue - Photobucket

Sorry dude, that was me. I was looking for my wiffleball. I thought it went into your yard. I do like the camera setup though. Been thinking seriously about getting one set up. Did you do the install yourself?

 

[concrete dog]

well i didnt watch the video but i will say dont let your guard down if stuff is coming up missing.i would be thinking the samething if the truck was moving slowly and my car had been broke into 6weeks earlier.maybe it was nothing and maybe it was something.GOODLUCK

 

[RCB]

On this note, I live rurally and have been wanting to put in a regular and night, motion activated video cam. We have had things taken before, and I get the feeling its someone I know. Anyone have recommendations?

I think it's very suspicious. A friend of mine a couple years back had all the tools stolen out of his truck and then came to find out 19 other people in his neighborhood had also been burglarized. They had to have a truck and probably checked to see who was awake prior to their actions.

 

[VUPDblue]

Yes I did the install myself, it's easy and this isn't my first time. As for the motion activated cameras, most DVRs have a provision to only record when THEY detect motion in one of the cameras' fields of view. See my link a few posts up for the exact cameras I use.

 

[Arm America]

Nice security system. I'm impressed.

I vote you were cased along with the rest of your neighbors.
I'd venture to say these guys were looking to snatch and grab
whatever from whomever.

 

[longbow]

You need to live a longer distance from the road and get a basic noisy gate. It makes it more difficult to snatch and grab.

We had a gentleman show up late one night - up to no good ( most likely) because all the lights were off, and the dogs said hello to him and he never came back. I was aware of him being up by the house, but the dogs escorted him back down the driveway.

I then went down and shut the gate.......

 

[phishb0y]

I saw a flashlight and break lights te slowed down to look at soething a your house
i would check some older tape for and extended cab doing drive bys