Nick's "getting robbed at gunpoint" thread

[hive_king]

This post is for people to relate stories of being mugged at gunpoint:

So, I was walking down the street with two of my friends, Josh and Leo, on the way to Leo's house. We're walking down this particularly dark street when a kid (my guess is he was 15 or 16) rides up to us on a bike, pulls out a gun, points it at me, and tells us to empty our wallets. Four of his friends come up behind us and start collecting our stuff. I have been without a cell phone for two weeks. Ironically, i had just bought a new cell phone about an hour before this happened. Needless to say, I no longer have that cell phone, my other broken cell phone, my gameboy advanced, or the twenty dollars in my wallet.

The funny part is I still have my wallet itself. when they're robbing my friend Leo, not only does he hide his cell phone, when they take his cigarettes he's like "Hey man, not my cigarettes!", and they actually give them back to him. That gives my Josh the courage to ask for an old ID card from his wallet back, and they just give him his wallet back. Leo then asks for my wallet back, and they've even courtious enough to let me have it. Kinda funny in retrospect, actually. Then all the kids run off.

As soon as we get to Leo's, we call Sacramento PD. When Sacramento's Finest show up, they actually insinuate (though not flat out say) they think it was some sort of drug deal gone bad. They try to tell Leo he should move out of the area, and don't even write down the serial number of my phone. Doesn't give me alot of faith in the SPD, myself, but what can you do?

It was kinda funny in retrospect.

[starlooker]

I'm so very, very glad you're okay. You and your friend.

Is it sad that I was kind of like, "Oh, yay! I can tell my story!" when I saw the thread title?

This takes place back in undergrad, when I was living in Memphis. So, Wednesday, September 5, 2001 was a crappy day. I'd agreed (finally) to start seeing a therapist (for real). Depression and trust issues and the like. I went and was sad and didn't like it. Then I had calculus class and a couple of other things. Went to Tai Chi class. Went to my friends' place for a little bit, watched Golden Girls. 11:00ish PM. On my way home, realized I was out of contact solution. Stopped at the Walgreens I'd been stopping at for 4 years in Midtown. Parked literally two spaces away from the front door. Funny enough, I left my purse in the car and just took my wallet in. Considering that I had my 2 week paycheck in my wallet, this turned out to be a good thing.

Anyways, walked out of Walgreens. Started walking to my car. A man with really bad teeth started talking to me. I didn't understand him at first, and by the time it dawned on me that he was between me and my car he had the gun and was asking me repeatedly if I wanted him to shoot me. He told me to give him my purse, which I did. I was speaking in the same tone of voice I use with police officers, "Yes, sir, no sir. Yes sir."

The worst part was after I'd given him the wallet because I realized that he didn't have to let me go and that was frightening. Also, I realized that I should be remembering what he looked like for the police. I remember in my mind thinking about the details of what he looked like, how tall he was, etc. What he was wearing. Funny thing is, when I got to the police I'd forgotten all of it.

Anyways, thankfully, he told me to get in my car and take off, threatened to kill me a couple more times, then I took off. Drove around the block once and then to the police station LITERALLY two doors down from the Walgreens.

Well, the guy at the desk can't take my report cuz his hand's broken. There are officers in the back, I see them, laughing, hanging out, but they don't do anything. I started BAWLING the second I walked in. The first guy let me call my friends, and so they came, eventually, as I was calming down. This brought on a fresh wave of tears. They looked like they'd been crying, too.

Anyways, the officer finally came to take my report. He was an a******. SUCH an a******. Words cannot express. Victim blaming, the whole bit.

As we walked out, my friend asked if I'd caught the name on his badge. I hadn't. "Officer Smallwood" she said. I will love her forever for that.

I stayed with my friends for a couple of nights after that. The first night was fine. Cried for awhile, but was okay. The next day I went to all my classes. The second night was terrible, because the shock had worn off.

So, I'm going through my week o' trauma, and the next Tuesday I'm skipping classes and trying to make myself get a new social security card, etc. and I'm driving to McDonalds, and guess what? It's September 11th.

The next day is Wednesday again. I go in for therapy. It's so funny. I will always remember her face. She is a therapist with a plan. Check in with me re: 9/11 and then start in on my trust issues. So, we talk about 9/11 for awhile, and then she asks me something generic about my life and things, and I remember feeling like I wasn't sure if it was worth bringing up. 9/11 tended to make everyone's problems seem small, including having just been robbed. That all felt on the back burner. So, finally I said, "Well, I guess I should mention, last Wednesday, I got robbed at gunpoint outside Walgreens."

And I will never forget her expression. I think of it whenever one of my clients throws me a curveball.

She makes her face go blank and says, "Say that again?" Which I liked because up till that point, everyone had said, "You're kidding!" Which annoyed me.

Later that day, I went to Senior Seminar and learned about the Tuskegee Syphillis Study ( see http://www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Pr ... STUDY.html )

That was probably one of the worst weeks ever as regards my faith in humanity.

[mr_thebrain]

Thank god i'm from wisconsin. and nowhere near milwaukee.

sucks you both had those experiences though.

[Hegemon]

When I first heard his story I actually though to myself how quiet Canada is in comparison...

btw Milwaukee was where Dahmer was?

[mr_thebrain]

yeah. i find it extraordinarily funny that that's the only thing that people remember about milwaukee.

why don't i ever hear "milwaukee... wasn't 'happy days' set in milwaukee" or "isn't 'that 70's show set near there'" it's always "milwaukee? have you met dahmer?" though it's funny my cousin actually did meet dahmer.

anyway, that's derailing the thread. sorry.

[Hegemon]

In all fairness, I think that your cousin meeting dahmer is a fair derailment of any thread... PM me that story *how they met, etc* or post it here... I just wanna hear it..

And I actually did think of that 70's Show as well, lol

[Petra456]

Oh my god. I guess this explains why you haden't been answering your phone.

That's scary. I'm glad you're ok.

[vendor]

I have no idea how old HK is, but I hear there is a monster class action lawsuit against the sac pd (and the entire juvenile justice system) regarding their lack of due process, maltreatment, general laziness involving juveniles. All those who ever had been mistreated by the law enforcement, or the justice system in the greater sac area, while a minor, has cause to jump on this class action.


By informing you I charge 10% of any winnings.

[hive_king]

I'm 19, so I guess I'm disqualified from joining in, though they did seem to treat us like juvenial delinquients. Vendor, are you in the sac area?

[vendor]

I have a brother-in-law that set fire to San Juan High. He's been thru the juvie system. He was denied rights on all fronts. He is taking advantage of the class action thing.

[hive_king]

Now I don't normally condone trying to burn down schools, but San Juan IS pretty crappy...

[vendor]

he only managed to set fire to a bathroom door. It didn't spread. Yet he was fined $400,000.00 as a minor. Try getting a job with that hanging over you.

[hive_king]

How could he even pay that off?

[vendor]

He's hoping to pay off most of it with the lawsuit

[Hegemon]

Generally speaking if you are given a fine that you have no hope of paying for, it will likely be garnished from your wages.

Whether you pay it off or not is not really at issue because I know that Canada does not have a debtors jail and i have a feeling that the US does not either.

As for him being denied rights, I am inclined that if you try to set fire to a school that you do not deserve any.

[vendor]

what employer would want to deal with the extra paperwork? as long as he has this fine over his head he can't get any kind of loan. He can't sign on apartment leases because from their perspective, he doesn't have the money to pay rent.

and if a police officer interrogates, beats, and holds the kid for two weeks (over christmas and newyears break) and the juvenile justice system started the trial before his father was notified that his son was detained??

Canada has a funky perspective of justice

innocent until proven guilty.... all this was done based on an anonymous tip.

terrorists are treated better.

[Hegemon]

I do not profess to represent Canadian views. All I stated was that Canada does not have a debtor's jail.

I stated simply what I think. I have never really believed much in "fair process" if you factually know that a person is guilty.

In this particular case, from your post about it I am inclined to think that he in fact did it, as opposed to having been convicted of it wrongly. If he did it, then my sympathy drops to zero, at least for his treatment by the cops.

As to the punishment, it seems harsh. 400K is a hell of a lot of money for what he did, but considering that what he did could have amounted to murder.....

Incidentally, they detained him for 2 weeks and didn't notify his dad of the trial... didn't his dad wonder where the hell he was? I do think that his father should have been told. That being said, depending on his age at the time of the offense, I am just as happy to try him as an adult.

You mention that he is your brother in law. Is this your marriage to his sibling or his marriage to your sister? Reason why I ask is because if he is married I would assume he is somewhat older today and I am curious as to what has since happened to him, after the ridiculously high fine.

[anonshadow]

terrorists are treated better.

I'm not sure where exactly you are, but if you're American--no, no they're really not.

Have you read anything about the recent bill that both the House and the Senate passed? Or the Patriot Act?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/opinion/28thu1.html

That's an editorial about the recent bill--I think it outlines the points nicely. Keep in mind that some of the amendments have been stricken, but many only just--and then tell me again that terrorists are treated better.

I'm not discounting that your brother was unfairly treated, although, to be perfectly honest, trying to set fire to a school is arson and reckless endangerment. He deserved punishment. 400K is overboard, but he did do something wrong.

Does that make 400K reasonable?

No.

But...

[vendor]

You're right, terrorists are treated worse. I didn't know enough about it to make the comment I made.

to sum the story up....
my bro-in-law is very impressionable and well, stupid. He fell into the wrong crowd and when he found out what they were into, he tried to leave. They couldn't let that happen because he was a witness to their evil deeds. They broke into my father-in-laws house many times to beat up my bro-in-law with a baseball bat and to rob the place. the sac pd were called on each instance, but no police report was made or filed. complaints against the department were made, but that didn't do any good. these "wrong crowd" kids offered my bro-in-law a deal. They told him that if he lit San Juan High on fire, then they would leave him alone. yeah, he's that stupid. As soon as he lit the bathroom door on fire, they called the cops. My father-in-law was out of state on a family vacation that my bro-in-law opted out of. I'm not saying he's a saint, but right and wrong blurs when peers are around. Peer pressure will be the death of him.

[Hegemon]

wow.... that's screwed up...

seems to be more extortion than peer pressure, but i see what you're getting at... now even I feel sorry for the kid. Too bad they didn't take that into account when sentencing him.

Any chance of reopening the case now? How has it since affected his life?

[liquifiedrainbows]

*robs Nick at gunpoint*

[vendor]

My bro-in-law became so jaded thru the justice process that he is now one of those "nowhere" people. He has since become involved with drugs and leeches off of who he can. No chance reopening the case.

[powerfulcheese04]

Yes, his degeneration is totally the system's fault. He's at no fault whatsoever.

Oh.. wait.

[vendor]

I did not mean to imply that his current state was entirely the system's fault. I was asked how he was doing and so I complied.

He did commit arson. A bathroom door at San Juan High was damaged beyond repair.... just a door. Despite the minimal damages, he did something very seriously wrong. Nobody was hurt, but somebody could've been hurt. Does the punishment match the crime? No. He cannot get a loan, he cannot get a job, he can't even get welfare. Can he ever pay this fine off? Maybe thru that class-action suit...if they win.

At this point he can't help himself. He no longer lives at home (my father-in-law kicks his kids out at 18 -- no excuses). For daily sustenance he requires handouts (he's living off of his gf).
What sort of door can you buy with $400k? my father-in-law was charged with the court fees of $36k . He had to do his own investigation of his son's whereabouts when he got back from his vacation. Is that right?

I know I have been venting in this thread. I have had my own experiences with the law. My car was stolen and the car had a leak so the thief took it to a mechanic shop. The shop contacted me for payment, but would not release it to me. I knew where it was, but nobody would help me. not insurance (stolen car claim), not pd not courts not lawyers. the lawyer said, "You are in the right, but in this town judges side with the person or organization that is most likely to produce the larger campaign contribution"!

now, I have no faith in the system. None. My bro-in-law made poor choices, I did not.

[Jebus]

Yes, his degeneration is totally the system's fault. He's at no fault whatsoever.

Oh.. wait.

vendor, this kind of comment is appropriately dealt with thusly:

[Hegemon]

hmm.... for 400K you must get a kickass door... Like... Platinum plated gold, made by the finest artisans.

As for your story... that is one strange car thief. Sorta courteous in a way.

[hive_king]

Alright, you say the system doesn't work, how do you propose we fix it?

[vendor]

I know, there isn't. As long as people hold positions of power, they will abuse them. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[Hegemon]

I am not entirely sure where there was an abuse in power for your particular case.

It is counter-intuitive that you would not have your car released to you. Of this much I agree.

However, a mechanic holds a lien on a car that he fixes.

When does that lien actually arise? If it arises when the car is brought in for work, without any qualifiers, then you are screwed pure and simple. It has nothing to do with abuse of power, it has to do with a poorly drafted law. If it arises from a car being brought in BY the owner, then you have a solid case and it is worth bringing it to court over. Since the suit would likely be for the value of the repar itself, I guess it would go to a small claims court, so why not give it a try and represent yourself?

If it is not statute based, then it is a common law principle. Is there precedent for someone in your situation? What was done in the past?

You also need to look at it from a policy-based perspective. Let's assume they just give you the car back and waive the fee. What kind of precedent does that set? Could it lead to someoen having a buddy drop off their car for repairs and then claiming that the car was in fact stolen? What kind of liability does that leave mechanics open to?

Sometimes people get bad judgments that have nothing to do with the abuse of power. It is a shame when they do, because we all prefer finding someone who was simply in the wrong and to punish them.

In this sort of situation, I would be inclined to think that there should be a law stating that a car can only be accepted by a mechanic if the person bringing it in can show proof of ownership. Sadly there is not. So for the time being, see if you can take it to a small claims court and win it back there.

As for methods of fixing the sytem in general, the best we can do is keep a system of checks and balances in place. Limit people's powers and give citizens alternative forms of action.

[vendor]

**bump**

I can't help but bump this thread.
So I was walking to work 08/08/08 about 3:50 am, there were several police cars driving by and seconds after they passed, a car pulled up beside me. There were two people in the car a couple of hispanic kids. The passenger asks, "where you from homes?" I glanced over and told them, "move on". They hung back for a few seconds while I continued walking, and they pulled in front of me to block my path. The passenger opened the door and lunged at me with an eight inch knife. I bolted. I ran like I was back in high school. I heard behind me that the footsteps stopped after maybe ten paces. I pulled my cell phone out while running and tried to dial 911, but instead my wife answered. So I told her to dial 911. (she was first on my recent call list, and I have a shortcut for her number as well). After I rounded a corner, I dialed 911 myself and the police arrived shortly thereafter.

Talk about a harrowing experience! Since then I have been a roller coaster of emotions. Fear and rage. Strong feelings of wanting to buy a gun. I know that won't help, but I feel it anyway. I have difficulty distracting myself from my thoughts.