Crime Ring Around the Neighborhood

The other day, while I waited in front of my friend's home for her to arrive after the call from the alarm company, I watched a lot of activity, including the 2 black males out front casually strolling to the house next door, joining several other males just sort of hanging out there. I watched as one of those men, wearing a bright red T-shirt and a distinctive huge gold chain, kept walking toward the corner, all the while talking on the phone. I had a conversation with the next-door neighbor who came out and asked me what I was doing there. I saw a distinctive teal blue T-bird come to the house next door and pick up the same 2 men who had been standing out front of my friend's house when I arrived. I watched in my mirror as that car drove far to the east, a long, straight open road. I watched the garage door close next door after all the black males, save one, had left the premises; that one continued to sit in front of the garage door, listening intently for what comes next.

Math is not my forte, but I'm still pretty good at putting two and two together and getting in the ballpark with my answer.

However, when the female police officer finally showed up to take the burglary report, she not only chastised me for not calling 9-1-1, but she took no notes, dismissed my description of the 5 black males, the necklace, and the T-bird. My services no longer required, I absented myself from the scene.

Today, my friend returned home early to meet with the insurance agent to obtain authorization for the repairs. As she drove up to her home, she saw the distinctive T-bird, the black males in front of another neighbor's home, the black male wearing the distinctive heavy gold chain, and another black male trying to enter the home by kicking down the door.

Can you say deja vu all over again?

She did call the police, but since it didn't seem to be a distress call, they said they'd send a car out when one is available to survey the scene. What a great idea, huh? The fact that there is a little old lady boarded up in the house as she's mentally ill probably isn't a factor that would add to the distress criteria. My friend did take some photos, wrote descriptions of the males she observed in what seemed to her to be the commission of a crime, and made sure she got a clear picture of the license plate on the teal blue T-bird, after which -- she had to leave for an appointment in the high desert.

Her alarm is set, but it's going to be obvious that her car is not in front of the house as that's the only place she has to park it. If the alarm company calls me again, I'm directing them to dispatch the police and deal directly with the homeowner.