Walked in on a half-robbed home...

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loserboy

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Let's start at the beginning. I teach elementary school in Chicago at a school a few blocks from my home. I decided on my prep period today to run home (I'd forgotten to bring some papers, and I wanted to use a bathroom in private).

As I pull up in my car, I see a former student suspiciously loitering in front of my house (most of my students know I'm a gamer...and this has always been something I've been concerned about). In any case, this particular student was generally no good, dropped out of high school, walks the streets day and night, and has been rumored to have robbed other houses. He's pacing back and forth, looking in the alley, looking behind him. I get out of my car and say "Hey *******, you watin' for someone?" He responds, "Yeah".

Well, I get to the top of my stairs, and I see that the window of my front door has been broken, and the door was open. I have had this nightmare, and replayed the scene in my head dozens of times...and it is exactly the way you imagine it to be.

There is nothing on or in my entertainment center. The tv isn't there,the 42 inch Samsung tv, the 360, the 60gb PS3, the Wii, my PSP, my sons DS--All fucking gone. I immediately ran outside, and of course he was LOOOOONG gone. The tv was actually sitting on the floor, they were obviously going to come back for it.

So I called the cops, game them the name of the kid who was hanging out in front of my house, they got prints off of the tv, which is good. But, they stole my wife's Macbook Pro, and unfortunately they stuck it into a bag of mine that had about 90 DS and PSP games in it...

I called my insurance company, and I'm taking pictures of the empty cases of the games. I'm rounding up receipts. I just needed to vent, because it completely sucks. I actually went out already and bought a new Wii, they had one left. My kids need something to play. There are so many things about this that suck, from losing all my downloadable content on my 360, to losing out on a newly repaired fully backwards compatible 60gb PS3.

I also just called ADT to have an alarm system installed. Oh well, just wanted to vent. Really just disturbed and pissed off.
 
well at the very least you know one of the cuulprits and once hes picked up he will probably rat out the others. i almost walked in on burgalars once when i wa a kid thats definelty one of those what if moments. heres to hoping you get your stuff back and maybe the cops will let you take a few swings at them. be sure to check local pawn shops or videogame stores since they will no doubt try and sell off your stuff asap.
 
Sucks man, especially right before Christmas. Sorry for your loss.

Its sad that Blagojevich has resorted to this for his legal fees.
 
Time to start smacking these kids in the damn jaws. BRING BACK SPANKING!!!! No really. Whats Singapores number???? We need a little of the WE AINT TAKING YOUR SHIT KID attitude around here.

oh yeah....sorry about your place and all.

I'd be hunting johney boy down and teaching him a little leason about you touch my stuff..your car just got jacked with a baseball bat.


oh yeah.....chip in for the charity :) ( not the op of course)
 
so im a bit confused. you teach elementary where the kids know youre a gamer and youve been concered about one of them robbing you?
a former elementary school student who has gone on to high school and dropped out sought you out and robbed you?

thank god you have insurance and your wife/kids werent home.
good luck getting things back to normal.
 
:(

I'm sorry.
I am also sick of the ghetto filth that plagues our country.
REALLY REALLY sorry for what happened.

:(
 
Getting a system stolen is horrible, my XBox and 30+ games were stolen 3 years ago. I was more upset about losing the game saves than actually losing the system itself or the games since they could easily be replaced. It really was upsetting since I kept worrying it would happen again.

Thankfully with my knowledge of deals from this site, I was able to replace everything I wanted to replace very cheaply.
 
Holy fuck, I'm really sorry to hear that bro. Brings back bad memories for me. I came home from school after picking up some food with my mother and actually walked in on two kids burglarizing my place. I chased those fuckers but didn't catch them; I'm 90% sure they were from my high school.

I was lucky; they didn't make it to my room and only took my GTAIV, Madden 09 and Call of Duty 2. Unfortunately for my mom, they got almost all of her good jewelry.

My heart goes out to you brother; hopefully your insurance will be able to help you out and the police will get a lead or something.
 
I know exactly what your going through. About 4 years ago I came home to find my window broken and everything missing. They took my PS2, Gamecube, 30 PS2 games, 15 GC games, laptop, and my go-ped (i know there was more, but thats all I can recall atm). I called the cops and gave them the info, but nothing good came out of that. I soon found out the theif was one of my cousin's hoodlum friends that had stolen everything. He came over one time; and that's all it took for him to target me. I swear it took every ounce of willpower not to hunt and beat the ever-living crap out of this kid.
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']So can the cops even print this kid for a comparison because he was simply standing outside?[/quote]
Since he was near the scene of the crime acting very suspicious, yes. There's no reason for the kid to be loitering in front of the home like that, and that's enough for him to be a suspect.
 
I feel your pain man. A couple years ago right after Christmas some punk fucks did the same shit to my house. They even used our pillow cases to loot our stuff and had the nerve to jump on our beds with their muddy shoes. Jacked all my games/systems, computer + monitor, mom's jewelry, cash, etc. Probably worst part of it all was my mom was the first one home from work and it really freaked her out...

To make a long story short, in the end our insurance company covered most of the damage and in a couple weeks the cops caught those motherfuckers (they were part of a burglary ring). I hope the same kind of justice can be made for you man, and thank god you have a suspect for investigation.

And also I am totally for an alarm system. We installed an alarm system (of course AFTER we got robbed) and this year someone tried to rob our house AGAIN. This time however the alarm went off and the cops arrived before they could steal anything. I'd probably suggest getting a loud alarm (not silent) as the noise will probably scare them off after they open a window or door. Good luck getting your stuff back man.
 
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[quote name='Ender']Geez, I am really pissed for you. Time to get a handgun, my man. Next time you might be home.[/QUOTE]

Or maybe he won't and they'll steal his handgun, too.
 
[quote name='Guerrilla']Since he was near the scene of the crime acting very suspicious, yes. There's no reason for the kid to be loitering in front of the home like that, and that's enough for him to be a suspect.[/quote]

He could surely be questioned but I don't think it would be legally possible to print him just because he was in the vicinity, and it would be hard to establish a specific timeframe to prove the robbery happened when the kid was around.
 
[quote name='antlp89']I'd probably suggest getting a loud alarm (not silent) as the noise will probably scare them off after they open a window or door. Good luck getting your stuff back man.[/quote]

If they try to scram, the loud alarm will also get the neighbors' attention, so they can look out their winds and get a make and model, possibly a plate, on whatever car they're using.
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']He could surely be questioned but I don't think it would be legally possible to print him just because he was in the vicinity, and it would be hard to establish a specific timeframe to prove the robbery happened when the kid was around.[/QUOTE]

If his prints were on the TV and he's been arrested before, maybe you'll have some luck.
 
Back in 94 my parent's house got robbed so I feel your pain, they got my RC car and super nintendo along with most of the electronics in the house and whatever small stuff they could find.. Thankfully the stupid mother fucker pawned off almost everything at once so the police got most of the stuff back and threw him in jail since he had hit at least 5 places. ADT after that for sure.
 
[quote name='paz9x']so im a bit confused. you teach elementary where the kids know youre a gamer and youve been concered about one of them robbing you?
a former elementary school student who has gone on to high school and dropped out sought you out and robbed you?

thank god you have insurance and your wife/kids werent home.
good luck getting things back to normal.[/QUOTE]


Well, this kid didn't "seek me out", there were rumors from students last year that he (and a couple of older friends) had robbed their houses as well. I don't think these chickenshits would have tried anything if there would have been anyone home. It was a sort of smash and grab kind of thing...but they got greedy and were going to come back for the television...
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']So can the cops even print this kid for a comparison because he was simply standing outside?[/QUOTE]

Well, he already had a record (from what I've been told), so he's probably already "in the system."
 
horrible OP, I personally have the idea (philosophy) that you don't steal from people, you steal from insurance companies (you have been stolen from, not the same idea). That said, I am very sorry for your loss, I hope they get the kids that did that, and I hope you get totally vengeance on this. This moment is something I have been dreading since I moved out of my mom's house and there isn't anyone here to watch my shit. I am paranoid like a mug!

Good Luck on your loss OP!
 
Really sorry to hear about it. Like others have said I hope your insurance company does what they are supposed to. My neighbors house was damaged by fire and the insurance company is dragging their feet and only offering cents on the dollar for what the policy calls for. They just hope people will run out of will power and settle for anything I guess.
 
I'm very suprised to hear a lot of the CAG members were robbed in their own homes. Its actually a scary thought and around this time of year especially with the failing economy I'd suggest everyone getting some sort of protection. This is total crazy, I live in apartments and am scared a lot of the times of robberies and what nots. I have a crazy amount of locks on the doors but still, always have my handy bat with me. I'll look into security systems as well.

Sorry TS about the situation you fell on, this mostly suck for your family horribly because now you'll have to throw in the "am I really safely protected" question around your home. Just don't live in fear though, but be weary and catious of your surrounding . I'd suggest some sort of community watch-dog plan, like you know neighbors looking out for neighbors deally. You can also put up signs like "Criminal activities will be noticed" or something to that extent. Anyways, be safe, that goes for everyone on this site and guests as well.
 
[quote name='loserboy']Well, he already had a record (from what I've been told), so he's probably already "in the system."[/quote]

Most children born after the 70s have their prints on file if they are from the US. The police introduced a system where they fingerprint children in case they get abducted (or decide to start a criminal career). I believe they used to do it IN schools in the early 80s if I remember correctly, so hopefully he is on file.
 
This is why we need capital punishment for this kind of crime. It would - 1. It may deter others, and 2. If not, just get rid of the people who do (no repeat offenders).

Oh... and if you're thinking about the fact that it's expensive? I'd suggest implementing the Chineese approach- Shoot the offender and bill the family of the offender for the bullet.
 
Why did the students know you are a gamer? You are a teacher, teach them, don't talk to them about games, don't try to be their friends, just teach them.
 
[quote name='jer7583']Castration is the only option.[/quote]

Nah, cut off their hands. It's a classic. Also, they wont be able to jerk off and no one will ever touch them cause they are handless theives.
 
Sucks and I hope they catch them and you get your stuff back. I got robbed (technically you got burgled) at gun point last year, they caught the guys but never found any of my stuff or any of my roommate who was with me's belongings. Though of course being robbed rather than burgled we lost much less than you did--just wallet/purse, phones etc. They did take her keys and stole her car but the police found it undamage the next day.
 
[quote name='bigdaddy']Why did the students know you are a gamer? You are a teacher, teach them, don't talk to them about games, don't try to be their friends, just teach them.[/quote]

Agreed.. Don't talk about video games..or get involved in their leet conversations about halo or any other game. I have a neighbor right next to me who's kid use to be one of my students. I keep it polite but never go into conversations about games. If they ask if I have a system, I tell them I don't have the time or money to play games...yet one good break in, and they could snatch tens of thousands of dollars worth of dvd's, video games, music cd's, systems, and heck even my new computer system...not to mention my army of clones, which they would probably take just for kicks.

Sorry to hear about what happened OP. Hope you get the bastard and of course castrate the fucker.
 
[quote name='help1']I hate kids that drop out of high school and ultimately pull shit like this.[/quote]
(look over at my name)...let's not insinuate that all high school dropouts fall under the same category...some are trash from good upbringings, some are trash from bad upbringings...some are really smart from good upbringings, some are really smart from bad upbringings

in my case...it would obviously take a lot longer than this to explain: but my family situation sucked horribly...that said, I'm a college student
 
[quote name='The Successful Dropout'](look over at my name)...let's not insinuate that all high school dropouts fall under the same category...some are trash from good upbringings, some are trash from bad upbringings...some are really smart from good upbringings, some are really smart from bad upbringings

in my case...it would obviously take a lot longer than this to explain: but my family situation sucked horribly...that said, I'm a college student[/quote]

Yea, but you like the Ravens so it's a moot point.
 
[quote name='bigdaddy']Why did the students know you are a gamer? You are a teacher, teach them, don't talk to them about games, don't try to be their friends, just teach them.[/QUOTE]

Big Daddy, where exactly do you teach? How many times have you been in my classroom? You may think I should stand up there and simply lecture their asses...but it doesn't really work that way. Part of what I am required to teach is character education.

As for "being their friends", I'm a 42 year old man, I don't become friends with teenagers. I do however understand where they're coming from, and if I can have one student understand something because I can explain it in gaming terms or in terms of something that happened in Saw IV, or something that happened on Spongebob (for that matter), I'm going to do it.

I live in the neighborhood I grew up in, I teach in the neighborhood I grew up in, my kids go to the public school that I teach at...so while your opinion is appreciated, it is also completely uneducated, uninformed, and wrong.

The first thing adolescent kids can spot is a phony. If you are a teacher and you are not yourself, you've lost half of your class on the first day. You need to be authentic--a real person. But, hey, you can think what you want...
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']Agreed.. Don't talk about video games..or get involved in their leet conversations about halo or any other game. I have a neighbor right next to me who's kid use to be one of my students. I keep it polite but never go into conversations about games. If they ask if I have a system, I tell them I don't have the time or money to play games...yet one good break in, and they could snatch tens of thousands of dollars worth of dvd's, video games, music cd's, systems, and heck even my new computer system...not to mention my army of clones, which they would probably take just for kicks.

Sorry to hear about what happened OP. Hope you get the bastard and of course castrate the fucker.[/QUOTE]

I understand where you're coming from, but I disagree (see my response to Big Daddy). My students can see into my front window, they can see me playing games. I bump into them at gamestop at least two or three times a week. It is who I am.

In reality, the nimrod who ripped me off might actually not have realized it was my house, because he just about shit his pants when I pulled up in the middle of the school day, while he was pacing out in front of the house...he really wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree. That being said, if the case goes that far, I will prosecute completely and wholeheartedly.
 
When you said elementary, i figured 1-6th graders it sounds like you teach a bit older kids which makes more sense.

Thats AWESOME that you have that much history in your neighborhood.

good luck with this hassle, hopefully your family can learn from it.

[quote name='loserboy']Big Daddy, where exactly do you teach? How many times have you been in my classroom? You may think I should stand up there and simply lecture their asses...but it doesn't really work that way. Part of what I am required to teach is character education.

As for "being their friends", I'm a 42 year old man, I don't become friends with teenagers. I do however understand where they're coming from, and if I can have one student understand something because I can explain it in gaming terms or in terms of something that happened in Saw IV, or something that happened on Spongebob (for that matter), I'm going to do it.

I live in the neighborhood I grew up in, I teach in the neighborhood I grew up in, my kids go to the public school that I teach at...so while your opinion is appreciated, it is also completely uneducated, uninformed, and wrong.

The first thing adolescent kids can spot is a phony. If you are a teacher and you are not yourself, you've lost half of your class on the first day. You need to be authentic--a real person. But, hey, you can think what you want...[/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='loserboy']I understand where you're coming from, but I disagree (see my response to Big Daddy). My students can see into my front window, they can see me playing games. I bump into them at gamestop at least two or three times a week. It is who I am.

In reality, the nimrod who ripped me off might actually not have realized it was my house, because he just about shit his pants when I pulled up in the middle of the school day, while he was pacing out in front of the house...he really wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree. That being said, if the case goes that far, I will prosecute completely and wholeheartedly.[/quote]

Here is where the problem lies. You need to use thick curtains/window shades and cover that up. They need to under stand that during school hours (whatever that is for you), you are there teacher, there to teach them...after the end of the school day, you don't know them, they don't know you.

Letting them know your a gamer but admission just opens up a world of negative possibilities. Giving them your gamer tag gives them an obsession to look you up and try to friend you outside of the classroom. Weird shit is happening these days between students and teachers (sex or kidnappings ) and the last thing you want to have is the police knock on your door asking why is your gamer tag on a missing child's gaming system friend's list or email list?

I have bumped into students or seen students out side of work at the mall. If they are good students with their parents, I say Hello how are you and say hello to their parents and make it quick. If it was some fucker I hate, I just avoid them period and pretend I know the fucker. If they see my coming out of game stop or whatever with a game in my bag, I tell them that it is for my nephew.

As for the part about being their friend..let me tell you this. A few years ago during my very first year in the classroom as an IA, I was friendly and kind to all the students. My psycho boss (the one who verbally and physically abuse her LD students), started accusing me of trying to be their friend. I never ever tried to be their friend, just nice. It came to the point where if the students try to open up a conversation with me, I had to just walk away and avoid all non school related topics. Yet all the female teachers would give hugs, touch students..show motherly love and it was "OK" with them. Geez.

There are things I don't do, including getting wasted every night like some of my fellow co-workers use to do at one school I worked at. Why, because the last thing you want is a parent or even a child to know about what things you do in your private life. My old guidance councilor would be in charge of the just say no to drugs and alcohol and I looked up to him for it when I was a kid. Nearly 20 years later, I had the chance to work with him to find out he gets boozed up and did some drugs. It was a shock to the system, but also a wake up call to tell me not everyone is what they seem.

Be true to what your teaching image and try not to be the popular teacher as it will cause you problems with the students or your fellow co-workers down the road.

Again, I hope the best for you and hope the cops nab the fuckers. If it was your former/current students, you may have have to notify the county and seek legal advice. Depending if the principal is a wack job, she may be against you taking legal action against the students involved, even though they committed the crimes. Look up that one story from a few months ago where an ART teacher was attacked by her student and her principal did shit about it. Sounds strange I know, but the principal may be trying to protect her public image with the community vs taking your side no matter who committed the crime.
 
ITDEFX-
Well, the school I'm at isn't a typical Chicago Elementary School. I walk to work--it is only 3 blocks from my house. I have students whose parents were in my graduating elementary school class. I don't try to be the "cool" teacher -- though I am very cool by nature, jk.

I'm not a drinker, never have been. I have a wife, two kids, and students only get my gamertag (which is a moot point now that my xbox is gone) only after they graduate the 8th grade and are out of the school. Students always try and find out about you, they see if you have a myspace, a facebook page, etc. In fact, it was because of myspace I was able to find out about one student's suicidal thoughts and got them the help that they need.

You are absolutely right about the blinds, though...we have had them basically down most of the time for months, but since we put our Christmas tree up, we've opened the blinds (they're closed now of course)--I've also padlocked my back gate, my side gate, and will have a new front door installed on Monday and ADT installed a week from Monday.

Oh well, I'm waiting to hear from the cops about the fingerprints on the tv set--and I've also been wondering about what would have happened if I would have gotten home two or three minutes earlier--I'm sure they were in the house at that point.
 
update us as the case proceeds... sorry to hear about it

I am super paranoid of being ripped off... I have over 1200 CDs and have had dreams of them getting stolen... that isn't even fun!

I had them in a safe in college...
 
[quote name='DestroVega']update us as the case proceeds... sorry to hear about it

I am super paranoid of being ripped off... I have over 1200 CDs and have had dreams of them getting stolen... that isn't even fun!

I had them in a safe in college...[/QUOTE]

It's funny--I've had dreams about this happening as well..I'm fairly paranoid. In fact, one of the last times I went out of town, I put all my games, systems, everything into about four or five plastic totes and stored them at my friends house. I'm going to feel a lot more secure with an alarm system and a new door.

I'm glad I interrupted them and kept them from getting my tv, my ipod, and my ps3, 360, and wii games--though they happened to take my shoulderbag that held just about ALL of my DS games (50 or 60)...and my wife's laptop was a shock, too.

Oh well, I'll keep everyone updated.
 
God damn that sucks.

I sorta know the feeling, my house got robbed the morning Halo 3 dropped. Luckly I was still in the house asleep (in advertly skipping class) when they broke in -- and that my VG collection was upstairs in my now old room. Still they managed to steal $12 outta my wallet, my phone, my moms jewelry and fucked up our door. To make matters worse to this day we have no idea who it could've been.
 
Everytime I left my shit hole apartment I was in during my college years to visit my family during my breaks I would worry if my shit would still be in my apartment when I got back.
 
Some of the teachers here need to take a classroom management class. It's called building student-teacher relationships. My students know I game. My students know I play pokemon. Teaching in not just about teaching and to think that is naive and outdated.

I'm not my student's friend but I sure as hell know what they like to do outside of school and they know my hobbies as well.
 
[quote name='AngellicLulu']Some of the teachers here need to take a classroom management class. It's called building student-teacher relationships. My students know I game. My students know I play pokemon. Teaching in not just about teaching and to think that is naive and outdated.

I'm not my student's friend but I sure as hell know what they like to do outside of school and they know my hobbies as well.[/quote]

Well it's a matter of perspective... I teach both in private school and public school, but I do enjoy teaching at the public middle school level more. student-teacher relationship isn't what it use to be as now a days everyone has to watch out because all it takes is one false accusation, and you can kiss your career good bye.

To play games (like pokemon) with your students just tells them that "hey this teacher is just one of us, so we don't have to take her seriously..". I have seen teachers actually lose control over there classes because of this...and you know what? these kids get kicks out of driving teachers nuts.

I don't know many male teachers who would do what you do...maybe it's a guy thing. There are too many women teachers and not enough male teachers in the system, so that needs to balance itself out..plus these days the average career span for someone fresh out of college as a teacher is about 3-5 years before they totally give up and move to something else, but usually stay in the education system just for the benefits.

Anyways... back to the topic.

OP, have you notified your school yet?
 
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