Spent the night (july 3rd) on the couch with my M4

[renegadephoenix]

the night started off normal enough, some locals were shooting off fireworks earlier in the evening and finally died down around 22:30 hours. we put my son to bed around the same time. wife and i watched a little more TV before heading to bed. around 01:15 A.M. this morning i heard what i thought were gun shots and my black lab started growling which is something she never does (she's afraid of her own shadow). i get up grab the .45 and walk out into the living room wearing nothin but boxers. i go over to the bay window andd see fireworks being shot off two hillsides over in a housing plan. just then i hear a car engine and look down the dead end street and see two cars weaving towards me and the intersection. both cars have their headlights off and when they get infront of my place they turn them on and crank up thier stereos. now my wife and i are the youngest on the street so i know they aren't any of the neighbors kids. they begin to yell and scream out the window and they see me standing there. at this point i rack the slide to show my intentions if they become violent. the first car i hear and OH SHIITE get the F outta here. the second car the kid yells "Whats that supposed to mean". my reply was "It means your not welcome in this neighborhood" he said "what" at attitude here. i said again "it means your not welcome here, and the cops are on the way".

he peals out and i hear them flyin through the back roads. by this time the wife is up and my son is screaming. i told the wife to go back to bed and got my son settled. i then got the M4 out and opened all the bay windows to hear any cars entering the dead end street we are on. i stayed up for two more hours and heard afew cars go by that didn't turn onto the street but sounded like the cars these guys were driving. the wife found me on the couch with the M4 across my chest around 5:30 AM sound asleep.

tonight will be another vigil since a couple of my elderly neighbors are out of town.

[XD45]

stay in the house and call 911

[renegadephoenix]

90% of my neighbors are well over 60 years old and if one of these guys breaks in and harms one of them before the cops get there, is something i wouldn't live down knowing i could have interviend with just my presence being there. most of my neighbors are like my grandparents. they all go out of their way to help us out. i notified all the neighbors about what happened and none said they had guests over and a couple WWII vets wanted phone calls right away if i see them again. i checked my other neighbors house to see if they had broken in, but couldn't find any forced entry.

[sjohn26]

they begin to yell and scream out the window and they see me standing there. at this point i rack the slide to show my intentions IF they become violent.

While well intentioned....your actions were wrong on many levels..........I suggest you read up here and on TheHighRoad for a proper response.

YOU were never threatened and would be at fault for escalating the situation if things had turned ugly!

[fonz]

Did you ever actually call the cops to report the issue? I hesitate to call it an "incident" but I would at least report their presence as an unwelcome nuisance.

[Dredly]

90% of my neighbors are well over 60 years old and if one of these guys breaks in and harms one of them before the cops get there, is something i wouldn't live down knowing i could have interviend with just my presence being there. most of my neighbors are like my grandparents. they all go out of their way to help us out. i notified all the neighbors about what happened and none said they had guests over and a couple WWII vets wanted phone calls right away if i see them again. i checked my other neighbors house to see if they had broken in, but couldn't find any forced entry.

Keep in mind a few things...

1. If you leave the house you are the aggressor and will go to prison. Blasting their stereos on the road may be disturbing the peace... they'd pay a 100.00 fine. You walking out and threatening them will get your a LOT more

2. If your neighbors aren't home and you go in after someone that is breaking in you'll go to jail

I'm not saying you are wrong... I've spent a few nights on the couch to ensure that entry goes past me. and you are perfectly legal in having a weapon openly displayed in your home. Just watch the threats

btw - if its not a privately owned road they ARE welcome there. If it is PRIVATELY owned they you can tell them to leave. You can't throw people off property that you have no right to

[wellcraft]

i think you made a couple mistakes, the first was going outside and the second was brandishing a firearm. had the kids called the cops and lodged a complaint you would have been arrested and taken to jail, probalby convicted, maybe a bit of jail time and for sure lose your firerarms rights. i knew a guy that pulled a gun on a vagrint in philly that was threatening him. the vagrint found a cop and lodged a compliant. the guy was arrested and put through the ringer by the philly DA office. eventually the charges were dropped but not after much aggravation and money was spent.

[Poonie]

You may have just caused another visit by these thugs, should they be of the ilk to seek revenge. Although I doubt they will be back because now you have a reputation amongst them as the "crazy dude with the gun". But I'd still be prepared since the sight of your weapon brought an attitude laden response from the one numbnut even though they departed.

[Willtallica]

Never ever involve your weapons until you think someone needs to die in the conflict. You can usually tell, because that's where you're about to shit yourself. On the other hand all you do have to explain to a cop is that you were in fear for your life or others'. The only times I ever loaded my guns was when my house was physically touched.

Always think about the hearing.

[4XLT]

ya, im going to have to agree with the rest you should never had showed your pistol, at least not until THEY upscaled the threat. first thing i would have done is call 911 and stay in the house, if they come into the house then you let them know your intentions, but until then.. CYA is always a good motto .

i understand you wanting to protect your niehbors , best way to do that as far as simple burglery is to get a description and a plate #and the the cops know ...