Had a suspicious incident recently

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M-Quigley
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Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by M-Quigley »

I was driving home from a long drive and unfortunately didn't notice I was getting low on fuel and the closest station was in a economically depressed urban area known to be a high crime area also. To give you an idea, the inside of the nearest gas station is closed to the public even during the day. You want to pay in cash for gas or etc. you pay through a window, probably bullet resistant glass. I got out of my car and used my credit card to activate the pump and started to pump gas. There was a car parked on the side of the lot probably about 50 feet away. A guy got out of the passenger side and started walking up to the pumps. Since it was cold out (or I thought it was cold because I'm old I guess) I put my hands in the pocket of my winter coat while I was waiting. He came up to within ten feet I guess before he stopped. He didn't come straight up to me either. He seemed surprised that I was starting back at him. He asked if I knew what time it was, and I used my left hand to point to the building. There was a digital clock inside one of the windows. He looked and said, "Oh yeah, thanks." He then said that he and his friend had run out of gas and did I have any money to lend them? (the car he came out of was running :roll: ) I told him no I don't carry gas, I buy gas with a credit card. He had his coat open but I couldn't see if he had a pistol in his waistband or not, his hands were at belt level. At this point I thought to hell with a fill up (even though it was a good price) and used my left hand to stop the pump handle and returned it to the pump. I normally get a receipt but didn't that day. I did not get in the car though because doing that would've meant I would've had to turn my back on him. He kept standing there giving me an ugly stare after I told him I didn't have any money and I just kept looking at him. He asked what I had in my pockets and I replied in a low tone of voice as I stared back at him, "My hands, it's cold outside and getting colder." I asked, "Anything else?" He showed me his palms, turned around and walked away. I got in my car and drove off. I can't say for certain it was a carjacking but I don't feel like it was a simple panhandle either.
Aesinsp
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by Aesinsp »

It sounds like that went about as well as it could have. Thank you for sharing your experience.. And glad you are safe.
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M-Quigley
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by M-Quigley »

Aesinsp wrote:It sounds like that went about as well as it could have. Thank you for sharing your experience.. And glad you are safe.
The good thing about it, not being absolutely certain it was a robbery, was that it really was cold, I didn't have insulated gloves on because I cant use gloves to use my credit card, so I casually had my hands in my pockets, and very important legally, not in any threatening manner. The pocket openings are horizontal, which if a situation goes from condition orange to red makes for a quicker response, at least for me in my practice wearing the coat than a coat where the opening is vertical. There's no snagging if you have to get something out of it quickly. With 2 pockets you can have 2 different things to choose from, depending on what kind of response you end up needing, if it does go to condition red.

Something funny happened when I told someone here locally about what happened. His reply was it might've been a robbery or not but it's good it turned out well, but what would've happened if the guy had called my bluff? I thought his question was amusing because what I told him is similar to what I said in the OP and I don't recall saying anything about bluffing. :lol:

If it was a robbery I don't know if he thought I was bluffing or not, or maybe he wasn't sure either way, but at least he decided to choose to not risk it with me. IMO that was a good choice on his part, and is okay for both of us. An even better choice would be to not rob people at all, but that's asking too much I guess. :(
Aesinsp
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by Aesinsp »

When anyone of us is asked what's in our pocket, I suspect that certain answers could easily come across as disrespectful or challenging..

Like ' Fart around and find out..' Or any number of others.
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Brian D.
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by Brian D. »

Panhandler at a United Dairy Farmers store/gas station had a pretty lame story for me yesterday. Told me his son was in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital here in the city and he needed money for gas to drive there. Sad tale would have really tugged at my heart strings if not for the fact that...this particular hospital doesn't HAVE an NICU.

Meth head, from the looks of him.
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M-Quigley
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by M-Quigley »

Aesinsp wrote:When anyone of us is asked what's in our pocket, I suspect that certain answers could easily come across as disrespectful or challenging..

Like ' Fart around and find out..' Or any number of others.
I think anyone who approaches someone who casually has their hands in their pockets and asked in a kind of demanding tone of voice What's in your pockets ? is very disrespectful or challenging, particularly when it's in the middle of the winter. I think I let him know that too in my tone of voice when I answered his question. It was a situation where it felt like he wanted to do something and looked like he was close to doing to something, but he hadn't actually crossed the line. His stance made it look like he could've at any second pulled out a pistol from the front of his waistband. Whether he actually had one or not IDK. If he didn't maybe he thought he could intimidate me and claim he had one, IDK. His coat was barely open but I couldn't have seen one in the 2 o clock position. I found it suspicious that he had his hands in front of his belt line as he was talking to me, instead of hanging down or up higher, not something I've seen real panhandlers do.

I didn't put my hands in my pockets just because I saw him walk up either, I really did want to keep my hands from getting cold. The fact that I had various stuff in those big pockets that I could use in an emergency situation was just an added bonus.

When I say "emergency" I don't just mean self defense. One of my pockets has other things too, things like a flashlight and something for a hypoglycemic situation, not for me but for a relative. I had winter gloves in the car but I can't use them when I get out my wallet and used my credit card at the pump, so after it's starts pumping I usually put my hands in my pockets if it's cold and windy out. The older I get the definition of cold gets higher and higher. :(
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evan price
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by evan price »

Brian D. wrote:Panhandler at a United Dairy Farmers store/gas station had a pretty lame story for me yesterday. Told me his son was in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital here in the city and he needed money for gas to drive there. Sad tale would have really tugged at my heart strings if not for the fact that...this particular hospital doesn't HAVE an NICU.

Meth head, from the looks of him.
I recently had an encounter with one of those guys that stands at the entrance to a business parking lot with a sign saying he needs help.
Long story short I was picking up a piece of equipment at the business and it was sitting right by the end of the parking lot where the guy was. Guy walks over and his me with a sob story about how his house burned down and everything was lost, even his dog.
Me being a bit of a you- know- what asked the guy where his house was? And he rattles off an intersection down in the 'hood.
Which just happens to be a block from the shop I'm taking the piece of equipment to. A shop i go to multiple times a week.
And I know there's been no fires.

"Bzzzzzt! Nice try but thats no good. There's a gas station and a closed down bar on that corner."

Umm well I mean it's on the other side of that...block.

"Bbzzzzzt! Fail! That's a construction lay down yard. You've got two strikes on the board, want to guess again?"
So he gives me the finger & walks back to the sidewalk.
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M-Quigley
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by M-Quigley »

evan price wrote:
Brian D. wrote:Panhandler at a United Dairy Farmers store/gas station had a pretty lame story for me yesterday. Told me his son was in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital here in the city and he needed money for gas to drive there. Sad tale would have really tugged at my heart strings if not for the fact that...this particular hospital doesn't HAVE an NICU.

Meth head, from the looks of him.
I recently had an encounter with one of those guys that stands at the entrance to a business parking lot with a sign saying he needs help.
Long story short I was picking up a piece of equipment at the business and it was sitting right by the end of the parking lot where the guy was. Guy walks over and his me with a sob story about how his house burned down and everything was lost, even his dog.
Me being a bit of a you- know- what asked the guy where his house was? And he rattles off an intersection down in the 'hood.
Which just happens to be a block from the shop I'm taking the piece of equipment to. A shop i go to multiple times a week.
And I know there's been no fires.

"Bzzzzzt! Nice try but thats no good. There's a gas station and a closed down bar on that corner."

Umm well I mean it's on the other side of that...block.

"Bbzzzzzt! Fail! That's a construction lay down yard. You've got two strikes on the board, want to guess again?"
So he gives me the finger & walks back to the sidewalk.
:lol: At least your encounter was entertaining. The few times in my life I've encountered people who seemed to be legit panhandlers, I didn't know if their story was legit or not. It didn't matter though, because I really don't carry much cash on me anymore and even if I did I don't want to take my wallet out in front of people, just in case it isn't a legit panhandle. One exception was a guy claiming someone sideswiped him on the highway, and he was able to ride his motorcycle to the nearest gas station, but some of the damage caused him to have a gas leak. He repaired the gas leak with stuff he bought in the station but then claimed he didn't have enough money for gas. I was able to see the MC and it appeared he was telling the truth, but again, not much money on me. The guy was lucky all he had was some scrapes. What I did do was tell him that if he wheeled his MC over to a certain pump I'd get him some gas on my cc. While he went over to the side of the lot to move his MC I used the card to activate the pump. I watched as he put a couple of gallons in the peanut tank.

Another time someone was at a hospital where I worked and asked for money to get something to eat, they had a relative in there. Panhandling inside the hospital is against the rules, but I didn't call security. I asked if she liked Subway and said yes so I showed her where the subway was inside the hospital and gave her a gift card I had received for something. I think it was a $5 card and I saw her use it to actually buy something. I think it had a little bit left on it but I told her to just keep the card.

The thing about the incident in the OP was that based on the circumstances I am not convinced panhandling had anything to do with it. I got the feeling the guy started to pretend to panhandle me only because he got caught approaching me. He didn't come straight up to me, instead walking to the opposite side of the pump row and then suddenly coming up around the row and looking surprised that I was facing him and staring at him with his hands down in my coat pockets. I went from condition yellow to orange right away. Based on everything that he was doing I got the feeling that his intent was to try to rob or car jack me. I've occasionally been panhandled at gas stations but never like that, not having people try to sneak up on you and act like they might draw a weapon out of their waistband. I think the conversation that he eventually started was just an attempt to divert my attention or get my right hand out of my pocket. He obviously knew I suspected this and thought I might have a firearm, because before he left he slowly moved his hands away from in front of his waistband, and showing me the palms of his hands before he turned and walked back to the car.

Since that incident I told this story to a relative who is currently a sheriff's deputy and showed him what the guy did when he approached me, and his conclusion was that "That would make me suspicious too." He suggested I not let my car run low on gas near that area, since it's a known high crime area, but it wasn't my intention. I've gotten gas there a couple times before in the daytime and never had any issues like that.
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wobblygoblin
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by wobblygoblin »

When I was younger I worked at the statehouse. Some of you know there is an underground garage that connects the statehouse to the Rhodes tower and the Huntington and Riffe.

One day I’m walking through and this short black (his race comes in later) dude comes out of no where and says “I’m not going to hurt me (no {inappropriate language}) but that he’s done here from Michigan for a job interview and his wife is home pregnant and that his car broke down and the atm machine ate his card. He preemptively told me he mentioned all that
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BB62
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

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wobblygoblin wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 12:00 pm When I was younger I worked at the statehouse. Some of you know there is an underground garage that connects the statehouse to the Rhodes tower and the Huntington and Riffe.

One day I’m walking through and this short black (his race comes in later) dude comes out of no where and says “I’m not going to hurt me (no {inappropriate language}) but that he’s done here from Michigan for a job interview and his wife is home pregnant and that his car broke down and the atm machine ate his card. He preemptively told me he mentioned all that
I can't make heads or tails of your post...?
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WeinerDog
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by WeinerDog »

Ditto, bb62.
M-Quigley
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Re: Had a suspicious incident recently

Post by M-Quigley »

BB62 wrote: Sun Sep 10, 2023 4:56 pm
wobblygoblin wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 12:00 pm When I was younger I worked at the statehouse. Some of you know there is an underground garage that connects the statehouse to the Rhodes tower and the Huntington and Riffe.

One day I’m walking through and this short black (his race comes in later) dude comes out of no where and says “I’m not going to hurt me (no {inappropriate language}) but that he’s done here from Michigan for a job interview and his wife is home pregnant and that his car broke down and the atm machine ate his card. He preemptively told me he mentioned all that
I can't make heads or tails of your post...?
The only thing I can figure from the post was he was referring to a typical panhandler. :roll:
I incident I described was NOT just panhandling, IMHO. Panhandlers don't try to take a roundabout walk to try to sneak up on you and then are surprised when you spot them, or have their hands in front of their waist with an open coat in the middle of winter, for just two examples. All of the things he did, taken together, made me think the guy might be planning on robbing me, carjacking me, or both, and this area of town has been known for this type of criminal activity. Just in this stations parking lot alone there has been news reports of car jackings and shootings, which I guess is why the employees always stay behind bullet proof glass, and you can't go inside to shop. (lift) I can't prove in a court of law that it was a robbery attempt, which is why I didn't point a gun at the guy. I've had real panhandlers approach me before and they never acted like this guy. If if was just a panhandling attempt it was a very suspicious one. If I had been able to drive to a safer location to get gas I would've, but I couldn't, and I sure wasn't going to risk running out of gas.
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