What Was I Thinking??

Last weekend, a small, red, extended cab, older model pick-up truck drove onto the vacant property next door, up to the open, but vacant, garage area and the two-story apartments at the back of the driveway. I could hear him talking on his phone, in Spanish, but didn't see anyone else with him. At the time, I thought, "Hmm. Wonder if someone is casing the place for a burglary?"

A couple of nights later, at midnight, I heard what sounded like someone trying to kick in a door, but could not tell where the sound originated, so went back to sleep.

Today, the dogs let me know that someone was next door, so I looked out the kitchen window and saw a medium tall, somewhat chunky, apparently Hispanic male, dressed in the uniform of black knee-length shorts, running shoes, and a hoodie, walk to the first-floor apartment and pull on the screen door. Thinking the behavior suspicious, especially coming after last weekend's event, I called the local police -- who, of course, could not do anything because the man left the property, got back into the big green pick-up, and left.

About 10 minutes later, I again heard the same engine sound, looked out to see the same big green pick-up, and watched the same male dressed in the same uniform go directly to the metal screen door of the apartment at the end of the driveway, and begin to remove it. I again called the police, explained that a male was removing the metal screen door, but that the big green pick-up had driven up the street. I continued to talk to dispatch, while watching the man at the screen door.

I saw the police car zoom right past the property next door, while still watching the male in the process of removing the screen door. When he finally was able to remove it, he walked back out the driveway to the street, walked up the street, in front on my property, and started to cut across the empty lot on the other side of the house next door. I was still on the phone and heard the big, growly engine of the green pick-up start, so told the dispatcher, and then continued to narrate the male coming back down the street in front of my house, and up the driveway next door. The big green pick-up showed up, backed in, the screen door was loaded into the bed of the pick-up, and it drove off.

The dispatcher thanked me for doing my civic duty, and told me to call back if I noticed anything further. Which I did, about 5 minutes' later, when the green pick-up came back and the male passenger removed the screen door from the bed of the pick-up, dropped it into the front yard, got back into the pick-up, and left the scene. The dispatcher told me that the police officer, who had stopped the green pick-up after it left the property the second time, directed the male occupants to return the metal screen door removed from the property next door.

"That's it?" I asked.

"That's it," she answered. But she assured me I can call back if I notice anything suspicious.

No, I'm not going to do that. I stood in my kitchen, describing the male removing the screen door, watching him come and go, and the police officer, rather than coming onto the property and catching a burglar in the act of breaking (but not entering ... yet), told him that a neighbor had seen him remove the door, so he had to return it????

What was I thinking??

Did I really want to set myself up for the two men to return, this time to MY property, and thank me in person for doing my civic duty?? Believe me, I'll keep an ear open for the sound of that pick-up truck tonight, but if they're breaking into the apartment next door (made much easier by this afternoon's removal of the security screen door), I'll mind my own business!!