moegolden
12-05-2008, 06:32 AM
somewhat anti-climactic story (well there is one intriguing climax), but a personal account, so it's kind of interesting. I think of Metuchen as a decent place.
I'm just wondering if the guy would have gone in the house if he knew the resident was home. Imagine if it were anthony's home - there is really no doubt how it would end.
Spoiler: can't find any mentions of intruder's ethnic background.
news story: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812010332
father/homeowner's post
http://rutgers.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=642&tid=118570532&mid=118570532&sid=988&style=2
OT: had our house broken into (everyone's ok, though)
My 14-year old son was home sick on Monday in the upstairs master bedroom and he handled this scary situation beautifully. He hears the doorbell several times, calls his mom at work to ask if she's expecting anyone, and they talk about calling 911, when he hears the loud crash of the door being kicked in, so he says, "oh shit," and hangs up (causing my wife to get really worried and leave work for home, which is 1/2 mile away). He then immediately called 911 and described all the key details (who, what, where) and while he was finishing with them, the guy had come upstairs, heard my son on the phone (he was hiding in the shower in the bathroom), opened the bathroom door and then grabbed the phone from my son and decided to take off, probably realizing my son had called the cops; my son remained in the bathroom and didn't see which way the guy exited the house.
The police arrived within 30 seconds of the call, but they didn't catch the guy (some hypothesized that this guy might have had an accomplice in a car and he got picked up) - in fact, 7 cop cars were there within 1-2 minutes and they surrounded the house, guns drawn. They entered the house and went upstairs and called out and after my son verified that they were police, he let them in the bathroom (by then, he had pulled down a curtain rod as a makeshift weapon, in case the robber returned). My wife then arrived and I got a call at work and came right home to see how everyone was and survey the damage, as well as to hear what happened.
The cops were extraordinarily complimentary of our son's quick thinking to call and to hide in a remote spot and then remain calm even when the intruder (obviously, a strong guy to kick in a door - the whole frame is wrecked) confronted him and then to even verify that the cops were cops a couple of minutes later - smart and brave kid - we're very proud of how he handled himself. While the most important thing is that nobody was hurt (although he's a bit spooked, as I think anyone would be), we were also fortunate that he only took some loose change and the phone, although this does make it robbery, in addition to breaking and entering, so hopefully they can put this guy away for a few years if they catch him. The cops dusted for prints, thoroughly inspected the house to make sure the guy wasn't still there, and interviewed my son and they were just great - it's really nice to know that these guys care so much and are really responsive and professional.
So, since this happened, the story was on the front page of the News Tribune (see link) and was in the Ledger and news got around town very quickly (Metuchen is a pretty close-knit town) and my son got lots of kudos and support at school and some good-natured kidding, too, once they realized he was ok; being a jokester, he's also had a little fun with it, joking that he was shot 3 times, but was still able to repel the intruders. And, of course, we got the door temporarily fixed and are quickly buying a new door/frame and getting a security system installed; I hate having to do that, but I also want my family to feel safe and I am out of the house a lot. On top of all of that, it's been a killer week or two at work, as I've been putting in 70-80 hour weeks (it's ratings time, which is lots of extra work when you have a group of 15 or so), plus my wife's mom has been in the hospital since the day before Thanksgiving (respiratory issues - hopefully she'll be getting out in the next day or so).
Needless to say, my son and I are psyched to get the hell out of the house and recreate some of the magic we had at the Louisville game, 2 years ago, when we rushed the field with everyone else. If anyone could use a little pick-me-up from an RU win, it's probably us. Go RU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm just wondering if the guy would have gone in the house if he knew the resident was home. Imagine if it were anthony's home - there is really no doubt how it would end.
Spoiler: can't find any mentions of intruder's ethnic background.
news story: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812010332
father/homeowner's post
http://rutgers.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=642&tid=118570532&mid=118570532&sid=988&style=2
OT: had our house broken into (everyone's ok, though)
My 14-year old son was home sick on Monday in the upstairs master bedroom and he handled this scary situation beautifully. He hears the doorbell several times, calls his mom at work to ask if she's expecting anyone, and they talk about calling 911, when he hears the loud crash of the door being kicked in, so he says, "oh shit," and hangs up (causing my wife to get really worried and leave work for home, which is 1/2 mile away). He then immediately called 911 and described all the key details (who, what, where) and while he was finishing with them, the guy had come upstairs, heard my son on the phone (he was hiding in the shower in the bathroom), opened the bathroom door and then grabbed the phone from my son and decided to take off, probably realizing my son had called the cops; my son remained in the bathroom and didn't see which way the guy exited the house.
The police arrived within 30 seconds of the call, but they didn't catch the guy (some hypothesized that this guy might have had an accomplice in a car and he got picked up) - in fact, 7 cop cars were there within 1-2 minutes and they surrounded the house, guns drawn. They entered the house and went upstairs and called out and after my son verified that they were police, he let them in the bathroom (by then, he had pulled down a curtain rod as a makeshift weapon, in case the robber returned). My wife then arrived and I got a call at work and came right home to see how everyone was and survey the damage, as well as to hear what happened.
The cops were extraordinarily complimentary of our son's quick thinking to call and to hide in a remote spot and then remain calm even when the intruder (obviously, a strong guy to kick in a door - the whole frame is wrecked) confronted him and then to even verify that the cops were cops a couple of minutes later - smart and brave kid - we're very proud of how he handled himself. While the most important thing is that nobody was hurt (although he's a bit spooked, as I think anyone would be), we were also fortunate that he only took some loose change and the phone, although this does make it robbery, in addition to breaking and entering, so hopefully they can put this guy away for a few years if they catch him. The cops dusted for prints, thoroughly inspected the house to make sure the guy wasn't still there, and interviewed my son and they were just great - it's really nice to know that these guys care so much and are really responsive and professional.
So, since this happened, the story was on the front page of the News Tribune (see link) and was in the Ledger and news got around town very quickly (Metuchen is a pretty close-knit town) and my son got lots of kudos and support at school and some good-natured kidding, too, once they realized he was ok; being a jokester, he's also had a little fun with it, joking that he was shot 3 times, but was still able to repel the intruders. And, of course, we got the door temporarily fixed and are quickly buying a new door/frame and getting a security system installed; I hate having to do that, but I also want my family to feel safe and I am out of the house a lot. On top of all of that, it's been a killer week or two at work, as I've been putting in 70-80 hour weeks (it's ratings time, which is lots of extra work when you have a group of 15 or so), plus my wife's mom has been in the hospital since the day before Thanksgiving (respiratory issues - hopefully she'll be getting out in the next day or so).
Needless to say, my son and I are psyched to get the hell out of the house and recreate some of the magic we had at the Louisville game, 2 years ago, when we rushed the field with everyone else. If anyone could use a little pick-me-up from an RU win, it's probably us. Go RU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!