Posted by : Sherri Cornelius Monday, August 6, 2012

My friends on Facebook might remember a few weeks ago when my bike was stolen, the idiot rode it right by my house, and I went down there to confront the gang of kids and retrieve my bike

Drama.

Up to that point the kids mainly messed with mailboxes up and down the street. Like, you’d see too many doors hanging open to be coincidence. The knob on my plastic mailbox was broken off and thrown on the ground. But we’d never be able to catch them in the act because it happened in the wee hours of the morning.

Then my bike was stolen, and it seemed to escalate from there.

A friend who lives across the street from the bike-thief’s house (their apparent base of operations) had things stolen out of his pickup the same night they took my bike. I told him who to talk to, and he was able to retrieve his items from the disinterested parents. We agreed we needed to start keeping our homes and cars locked, something I’ve never had to do before, and I started rebuilding the broken shed door.

It was quiet at my house for the next couple of weeks, but apparently they were still causing mayhem at other places, because the bike-thief girl got arrested last week. A few days later they ripped the door off my mailbox, and went through and stole items my friend had set out for a garage sale. On my way into town to get a new mailbox, I saw another family standing around their mailbox, which was lying on the ground next to its post.

Since my friend’s house is the only other one on that stretch of road, he’s an obvious target. Well the other night he caught two of the boys red-handed and had them arrested.

In a perfect world, this would be the end of it. The parents would step in, finally, or being arrested would scare the kids straight…but I doubt that will happen. If I’m not mistaken, a couple of the boys are the same ones I saw writing on the playground equipment a couple of years ago. They’re just old enough to do actual damage now, and bolder with their years of small crime successes behind them.

In the meantime, I spent a good chunk of change on a vandal-proof mailbox, and when they learn to drive they won’t bother with us anymore. With a vehicle, the mailbox smashing possibilities will be endless.

{ 3 comments... read them below or Comment }

  1. I had a "neighbor" like that too when I was very young. My brother got on their foul side and when I stepped in things escalated. They were about 15 and there were a gang of them. I got a fat lip out one encounter and pressed assault charges (ha! whatta joke that turned out to be!), but don't know whatever became of them.

    It all went south so quick I was a little shocked. The funny thing is I knew the "leader" from when he was on my brother's little league baseball team.

    Sad. He's probably either a full-on gangbanger now, or in prison, or dead.

    *Sigh*

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  2. That is just a shame that parents aren't reining in their kids. Summer comes and with no school to occupy their time, and uninvolved parents, it's a recipe for kid-disaster. I'm so sorry about your bike and mailbox.

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  3. Well I did get my bike back unharmed, but only by dumb luck. The girl's house sits in the vee of a fork in the road, and after I went to the front of the house to confront the kids and didn't see the bike, I drove around behind to look into their back yard. She had left it in the ditch behind her house, probably hightailing it across the fence since she knew I was coming for her. Almost missed it, camouflaged behind the weeds. But all's well that ends well on that front. The mailbox? It was about time for a new one anyway, so nyah nyah on them. :)

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