The Victims Of Crime thread

[Rovus]

Thought I'd start a topic like this up after a friend of mine a few weeks ago was attacked and had his wallet stolen.

I've only had the 1 incident to date:

I was robbed at knife-point by 2 Lebanese thugs back in February 2001 whilst coming home late from work. Lebanese gangs here are a huge problem in this country. What happened was our social club with the company I was then working for (Arthur Andersen, which went bust due to the Enron scandal) gave us free tickets to see the then newly released movie, Hannibal. I finished up work at 4pm and the screening was not until around 7pm, so I had enough time to hang around for next couple of hours or so. By the time we all made our way to the cinemas, all of a sudden decided I was not in the mood for seeing a guy's brain getting munched upon and I was a bit tired of having to wait around just to see it, so I decided to scratch it and catch a train to go home. When I arrived at my stop, as I was coming off the train (subway) station by walking down a flight of steps, I saw 2 guys around my age just hanging around down the bottom of the steps who just seemed to be observing everyone who was walking down. I noticed one of the guys was someone that I went to Primary School (age 6-12) and had played sports with. I hadn't seen this guy in quite a long time and he had his hair bleached blonde, which was different but was still easily recognisable. My car was parked a block away so I walked there and I just had to turn a corner where it was in an alleyway. By the time I got inside my car and now had my view turned around from where I was walking from, I noticed these same 2 guys were walking up the same street - each one on either side of the street. I didn't like the look of it and started getting really concerned of what they were up to, but had then brushed off that notion as probably just mere paranoia because the area in which I was in was always considered safe. It was generally free of any criminal behaviour or activities. So, with that notion, I didn't pay any attention to them and I was just about to start my car up and drive myself home. When I was just about to turn the ignition key, one of the guys yelled out to me since I had my side window down, "Do you have the time?" And I then knew immediately what was coming. I tried to start the motor up and speed off but he had sprinted towards my door, opened it up and stuck a knife infront of me threatening to stab me. The other guy (the one which I knew and had gone to school with) came around towards the same side of the door to block out any viewing by possible witnesses. Well, the guy with knife had started frisking me on either side of my pants pockets and just continuously kept threatening me in his home-boy mumbo-jumbo language. He then got hold of my wallet and took out about $50 which was all I had in there and also took out my ATM card and asked for my pin # (password). I just stayed silent and so he just threw it back at me. They also took my bag which I was carrying, like the ones in which one carries a lap-top in (possibly the reason why they singled me out), which didn't have anything valuable in there and they also just kept asking me really persistantly for my mobile (cell) phone which I didn't have one at the time. Even during the whole thing, I was thinking to myself - should I fight back? These guys to me just looked like amateurs trying to behave like hardcore punks and my wild side was getting the better of me to act. But I decided since I was in such a helpless position with my seatbelt on, I couldn't really see anything that I could do and besides I didn't want to risk being severely hurt - let alone, possibly, lose my life - over something petty. Well, the whole process for them to rob me while at the same time being physically threatened went for about 45 seconds or so. They then ran off and seemed to have disappeared.

I was in a bit of state of shock cause I've never had to experience something like that before and I certainly didn't expect it to happen from being in an area where I've grown up most of my life. I then drove home which was only a few minutes away and told my folks what had happened. We then went straight to the police where I was there till about almost midnight filling out a statement and viewing mugshots. The good thing is that at least I had something to work on to get these guys - I had once knew the accomplice (the guy without the knife) in the act. Even the coppers when they asked me questions seemed pretty baffled by why they would go for someone whom you know and they know you, since you're open to exposure. We obviously just assumed that he didn't recongise me. I gave them this guy's name, the school we both went to and the year in which we were in. I also rang around people who knew him to get whatever info I could get.

A few days later, I met with a proper police detective who went over my statement with me to make any amendments to it and to reiterate the whole incident to him personally. He had already by then dug up enough info to locate the one I had accused. After I expressed to him great certainty that the guy in which I identified and made the complaint against was the indeed the correct guy and that I was not mistaken, the detective then made his way out to arrest him and I would be then contacted afterwards to advise where to go to from there.

I then started wondering that what if this guy, the accused, decides to deny the whole thing and it would wind up being a "my word against his" situation. As far as I know, there was no witnesses. No one had intervened during the whole thing or came up to me after both of them had fled. When the detective called me up, he advised that his new prisoner had admitted his role and that he obviously didn't recognise me. It kinda surprised me, but at least I was satisfied. At the same time, I also kinda felt bad for the guy who had done this to me. I was never really close friends with him, but when we played sport together I'd say I was his friend. He was never a bad apple, at least not when I knew him, and I certainly had nothing against him then. I think he just ended up falling into the wrong crowd, I do know that he got teased and picked on quite often. Even the detective told me that, "He's scared shitless" and it was his first offence and added, "I'm sure he would say 'sorry' to you if he could." My bet is that the cops probably grilled him a bit and obviously would've told him of the seriousness of the implications to follow.

With this guy's arrest, the police were able to obtain from him the identity of the guy who held the knife to me. This was the guy who I wanted to get mainly. Well, he was eventually arrested also and, again surprisingly, he admitted his role too. It saved me from going to a line-up to point him out. The whole thing for my part was all over and in a jiffy.

The stupid thing is that after the arrests of both these guys and their admittance to the crime, that was the last I heard from the police in relation to the matter. Somewhere around 2 years afterwards, I saw the accomplice (the guy I knew) walking down the street in the city and once driving past me in our local area. I didn't speak with him. Then, about 2 years ago, I received a letter from our state's Corrective Services department in regards to the incident. Basically, I learned from them that the guy who had the knife to me received a 6 year gaol sentence. They also wanted to know if I were willing to meet with my offender as a means of understanding if I was in anyway still traumatised by the incident. I suspected it was possibly a way of giving him an early parole release. I never responded back. This guy should be released sometime next year.

[ZeoBandit]

Someone stole the pads off of my dirt bike when I was a kid. If I ever find the bastard that did that......

[Kevy5150]

That's some fucked up shit, Rovus. Glad you walked away in one piece. You too, Zeo Halen. LOL.

For me, I goto school at Pierce Community College in Lakewood, WA. This town is filled with deviants. My car was stolen last Halloween of 2005. I got the car back a couple days later after the police chase and am still collecting about $1,700, all in restitution payments. It all worked out fortunately for me, luckily.

My mother works in the same area, had her car broken into about three times.

It's a fucked up world.

[Rovus]

That's some fucked up shit, Rovus. Glad you walked away in one piece.

Cheers bro! I really don't make a big deal of it because of I've heard worse stories. Ran into an old school friend a few years ago and he told me he was once beaten in the head with an iron bar. Now that's fucked up! Another time I met a nice girl through a friend and we sort've had a thing going. My friend told me that she was once raped. She never reported it out of fear. Instead my friend (who's like her protector) found the guy and beat the fuck out of him.