I usually have a cup of coffee and read my e-mail first thing in the morning. Well, second thing, actually, after feeding the feline horde.
At about 8:30 this morning I put down the chow for the insiders, and then grabbed a cup of food for the hangers-on on the porch, opened the blinds, and wondered aloud why the contents of my car’s trunk were on my lawn. Wondered aloud, with expletives.
I emptied the food into the cat’s dish and headed to the car. The hole in the glass was visible from the porch. I mentally ran through a list of the contents of the car, and was curious as to who needed a 12-roll package of toilet paper so badly they would break out a window to get it. That would be some serious desperation, indeed.
So I called the MDPD, knowing that it was a formality. My home has been burglarized on two occasions, and both times the investigating officers told me they don’t bother wasting man-hours on robberies and break-ins unless someone is injured. Such is life in South Florida.
While waiting for the PSA to arrive I called USAA to start the process of the claim. As always, the representative was helpful and pleasant, and while I was on the phone with her I started checking out the damage. From outside the car it looked as though the radio was missing, which seemed strange, as I removed the detachable faceplate when I got out of the car last and stashed it in the glove compartment. The ashtray was gone, meaning they got away with about $1.50 in pennies, nickels, and dimes. (They left a quarter on the floorboard.) The toilet paper was still in the backseat, so I ruled out Taco Bell as the motive.
In the yard behind the car was the non-functional ham radio I got for an art project, the non-functional monitor awaiting a trip to a recycling facility, my original car stereo (kept in case I sold the car), the box for my current stereo, and — oddly enough — the faceplate for the stereo. Just how stupid was this guy, to take the stereo and not the faceplate for it?
When the public service aide arrived it got even stranger. Since they weren’t going to do any investigation, he told me to ignore the clearly visible fingerprints on the windows and door and open the car to check what was missing. The plastic trim was removed from the stereo, the wires were dangling down where the ashtray had been, but the stereo was still there. When I attached the faceplate, it still worked. And though he took the ashtray, he was nice enough to leave my obsolete work ID and garage pass on the passenger seat.
Unfortunately, he also left a lot of blood. I’m guessing he is new to this whole auto-burglary thing, because I’ve watched enough cop shows to know you wrap your arm in a heavy jacket before you smash through the glass. This joker obviously missed that step, as he left blood drops all over the inside of the car and some of the items on the lawn.
So in the end the only real damage is the $500 deductible I’m out for the repairs — and how much is a replacement ashtray for a 2000 Lumina going to cost me, anyway? — and the disruption of my peace of mind. I had just started to feel a little more secure after the robberies, and now we’re back to zero.
{ 15 comments }
I much prefer to start my Sundays with a nice picture.
Damn, mkh, that stinks. The biggest pain is arranging to get the thing fixed. Dropping it off, picking it up, yadda, yadda, yadda.
So no dusting for prints or any of that good CSI stuff?
Interestingly enough, you had just made a reference to “burglary stories” in a comment over at SotP yesterday morning.
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So sorry you had such a bad start! And yes, where’s Horatio Cane when you need him? Good luck with the repairs.
Rick, I meant the title as an ironic tribute to SotP, but left off the attribution. Also, I left the comment because I’ve been having the burglary dreams again for the last few weeks, so it’s been on my mind. Now, even more. Going to sleep will be a challenge tonight, I suspect.
Oooh, that’s a rough way to start the day. I’d have been tempted to get back in bed and start over again…
sucks. what’s worse – $500 damage or haunting burglary dreams?
Dude, I am so not moving to your neighborhood.
time to ax for a transfer (like jacksonville or st augustine)
Wow, that’s awful. We’ve had a string of car burglaries, too (I know, in the city beautiful,???). Ben’s car has been broken into twice, as have at least 5 other cars on the property. It’s just a matter of time before they get mine, so I just make sure to leave nothing but dirty diapers in it.
And speaking of blood, during Wilma last year, when our hood was pitch black, we actually caught a guy trying to do… something to one of the cars. We spooked him and he jumped in his car and tried to take off, except he was so nervous he hit a wall. So he jumps out and starts talking fast and nervously to Ben (who’s holding an asp – I swear), about how he was looking for his friend and he hurt his hand with this steering wheel, blah, blah, blah. Point is, guy took off, police arrive, and there on the floor is a bloody sock and blood everywhere, plus pieces of the car’s light, its paint all over the wall, plus our description of the guy and his car and his tag number – and the cops are like, we have nothing to go on.
Bastards.
Man, that sucks. I got my window broken once for a stupid Blockbuster VHS. $300 for a window AND $50 to Blockbuster. I don’t leave anything visible in my car since then.
Police won’t do a thing. My wife’s house was broken into TWICE by the same guy, the second time after they released him on bail. Then they dropped the case, basically because the DA office is overworked and underfunded.
An asp Tere?
Yeah, an asp – those batons that expand when you snap your wrist. They’re small and light-weight and pack a punch.
http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/asp.htm
Nice police priorities. Another shining tribute to Miami’s world class professionals responsible for the enforcement of law and order. Had the break-in been perpetrated by a woman in a red dress staging a political protest, they’d have hunted her ass down and shot her.
LOL. I never heard that’s what those are called. I thought you meant the viper. Going after a thief with an exotic poisonous snake seemed badass.
LOL. Ben is more the brass knuckles and asp kind of guy. And believe me, I’m not at all proud to report that.
It disgusts me that the police here don’t bother with fingerprints. Or noise complaints or parking issues or anything else that seems to matter to most people. Remind me again what we pay taxes for?
I’m very sorry to hear that. You don’t deserve this, no one does! Something great must be coming your way because otherwise your guardian angel is off somewhere sipping his/her thirteenth martini. Good luck with the dreams and unforunate hovering dark cloud.