A Brush with A Criminal? o_o

[Radical Dreamer]

So...Today was weird.

I'll start at the beginning. Two of my friends went to lunch today. One of my friends (the editor of our yearbook) was talking to the other about how she needed to sell some ads. Well, this guy came over to them and asked them what they were selling ads for. Once he found out that it was for a school, he said something to the effect of, "Oh, yeah, I subbed there once!" Well, he gave my friend his number and told her to meet him after school so she could sell him an ad.

Fast forward to the next period. My friend and I are sitting in Gov't, and she tells me about this guy that she met, named "Donald". She mentioned that he was effeminate. Well, it just so happens that I know a Donald who is effeminate (he's a family friend). XD So I agreed to go with her after school to meet this guy and sell him an ad.

Here's the kicker: He wanted to meet us at a park.

Well, I wasn't really feeling great about this for some reason, but I figured it was just the overcast weather, so I drove to pick up my friend, and we headed out. We drove to meet the guy, and when we found him, it wasn't the Donald I knew. It was some other guy who was overweight (the Donald I know is very petite) and didn't look like the guy I know at all. Well, we drove up to him and got out of the car (with the keys, just in case. XD). He noticed the car dealership tag that was on the front of my car, and he said something about it. I mentioned that my uncle works there, and he said, "Oh yeah, I know 'Rob!' He's my *mascot of school* buddy!" I still really didn't feel good about anything, and the longer we hung around, the worse I felt. I finally ended the conversation with a, "Well, thanks for buying and ad!" and we all left, in opposite directions.

Well, my friend had obviously picked up on some things too, because she wasn't feeling good about the whole thing, either. I dropped her off back at the school, and she and I both went home.

So I get home, and my mom calls. She asked how everything went, and I told her what had happened. When she got home, one of the first things she did was call my uncle, who, after hearing the story and the man's description, said, "What is he doing throwing my name around? He tried to buy a car here once, and he tried to get a job here too, but I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole!" Apparently, this guy has had about 10 cases of throwing around fraudulent money. So my parents are currently checking up on him at the Sheriff's website, and my dad is gonna buy me a can of mace (SWEET! XD). Still, this is pretty freaky...o_o I just thank God that nothing happened to us or anything, seriously. I kept praying the whole way there that He'd keep us safe (since I felt so uneasy), and He sure did. XD Thank the Lord!

[ShiroiHikari]

Scary! o_o Thank God it turned out alright.

[Kura Ookami]

Wow, Thank the Lord! Sometimes i doubt that prayer works, but stories like these really help me to realise that it does work and it is important.

[RubyJewelStone]

Thank God nothing bad happened.
That's grace for ya.

[Sammy Boy]

Good to know you are both safe.

Sorry, what is a can of mace? I don't know about these things.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Mace? Who knows? Maybe like a capsicum spray or something similar to ward off assaliants.

[Neko Niisan]

Random Silly Thought:

"What is he doing throwing my name around? He tried to buy a car here once, and he tried to get a job here too, but I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole!"

How many people have a 10 foot pole at hand to be touching people with? 0_o

Seriously:
I'm just gald that nothing did happen. Prasie be to God for keeping you safe.

[Yahshua]

Scary but thanks God you are ok.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Good to know you are both safe.

Sorry, what is a can of mace? I don't know about these things.

Mace = Pepper Spray I believe

[Evangeline-San]

Wow that could've turned out alot worse. Praise the Lord of didn't.
I worry alot about meeting up with criminals when I work. Working at a Rental shop you really have to trust people. Adn that's hard to do sometimes. Luckily, instinct does kick in.

[ChristianKitsune]

WOW RD I am so glad that you are safe!! *protection hug*

Thats kinda freaky

BTW Like MSP said, Mace=Pepper Spray=you spray it into people's eyes and then run away.

[Kaligraphic]

Actually, what's even better than pepper spray is this kind of mace.

[Radical Dreamer]

So wow, this situation has gotten even crazier.

A lieutenant detective came to the school today to talk with my mom (she works there), and also to have me verify that the picture he had of the guy was actually the guy we talked with. Apparently, the lieutenant had been looking for this guy for a while, and he had reason to suspect this guy of...well, for now, crimes much worse things than money related ones. o_o At any rate, it's made me even more thankful that God was protecting us yesterday!

And yes Kaligraph, while I'm certain a mace like that would be way effective, I'm not exactly sure as to how I'd conceal it. XD

[Kaligraphic]

You don't conceal it. You carry it openly. That's part of its charm.

[Hakaii]

Ok. A few words of advice. Pepper spray can be a double-edged sword. DO NOT SHOOT IT INTO THE WIND!!! You can easily get some of that stuff blown back into your face! Personally, I think that there are better ways to protect yourself. First of all, a weapon is only as efficient as its master. Your mind and spirit should be your sharpest weapons! I myself carry throwing knives when I’m going to places that don’t prohibit weapons. After only a month of practicing fighting with throwing knives, I could probably wound an attacker from 10-15 feet away (throwing). They are nice because they are small so you can carry plenty of them and they serve decently as a hand to hand combat weapon. Now, I’m not saying to take a knife to school! But there are more efficient weapons than mace. And, like I said, your mind should be the first weapon you use. And it your going to places where having a weapon is permissible, don’t bother concealing it! Let the creeps out there know that your Packin’! Personally, nothing makes me feel safer than when I’m carrying my Full Tang, double edged, Ultraviolet sword. If you leave your situation with nothing else, learn this… the real world is not a friendly place. I have compassion for your situation and in no way do I underestimate the danger that you were in but… It could have been MUCH worse! In my neighborhood, your friend probably wouldn’t have made it back to school. It is very important to keep yourself out of situations like that. Oh, and when it comes to situations that include the POSSIBILITY of their being a danger to your life, don’t worry about being nice or socially acceptable. If you have the SLIGHTEST notion that you are in danger, whip out that pepper spray and threaten the guy or scream for help. If you are wrong about the person being a threat, you can always talk your way out of it later. but if your right, well.. It’s better safe than sorry.

[EireWolf]

Wow; that's creepy. Thank God that He protected you and your friend!

One thing I've learned from my Dad: Trust your instincts. If you are getting "creepy" vibes from somebody, there's probably a reason. Get away from them, and don't worry overmuch about being rude. Be safe.

Tell your friend never to meet somebody like that alone! It's probably a very good thing that you were with her. It's a lot easier for a creep to attack one person than two.

[Sun.Ice]

Wow, thank the Lord you're safe

[Hakaii]

[quote="EireWolf"]Wow]
I agree, go out in groups!! and yes, God gave you instincts! they are a gift.

[SnoringFrog]

Actually, mace and pepper spray aren't exactly the same (my dad told me to say pepper spray > mace, not sure why). I don't know eexactly what the difference is, but they have the same basic principle, as ChristianRonin put it,

Mace=Pepper Spray=you spray it into people's eyes and then run away.

[desperado]

Remeber pepper spray and mace take 5-15 seconds to take effect. Also remeber that it does not work on about 10% of people.

[Stephen]

Ok. A few words of advice. Pepper spray can be a double-edged sword. DO NOT SHOOT IT INTO THE WIND!!! You can easily get some of that stuff blown back into your face! Personally, I think that there are better ways to protect yourself. First of all, a weapon is only as efficient as its master. Your mind and spirit should be your sharpest weapons! I myself carry throwing knives when I’m going to places that don’t prohibit weapons. After only a month of practicing fighting with throwing knives, I could probably wound an attacker from 10-15 feet away (throwing). They are nice because they are small so you can carry plenty of them and they serve decently as a hand to hand combat weapon. Now, I’m not saying to take a knife to school! But there are more efficient weapons than mace. And, like I said, your mind should be the first weapon you use. And it your going to places where having a weapon is permissible, don’t bother concealing it! Let the creeps out there know that your Packin’! Personally, nothing makes me feel safer than when I’m carrying my Full Tang, double edged, Ultraviolet sword. If you leave your situation with nothing else, learn this… the real world is not a friendly place. I have compassion for your situation and in no way do I underestimate the danger that you were in but… It could have been MUCH worse! In my neighborhood, your friend probably wouldn’t have made it back to school. It is very important to keep yourself out of situations like that. Oh, and when it comes to situations that include the POSSIBILITY of their being a danger to your life, don’t worry about being nice or socially acceptable. If you have the SLIGHTEST notion that you are in danger, whip out that pepper spray and threaten the guy or scream for help. If you are wrong about the person being a threat, you can always talk your way out of it later. but if your right, well.. It’s better safe than sorry.

Please tell me that you were kidding around. Throwing knives? Geez. Have you ever tried throwing one under the pressure of your life being in danger? Chances are you miss, or wound them enough that they are extra motivated to beat you to within half an inch of your life. And I won't even touch you mentioning carrying a sword. Too much anime people.


Mace is a fine idea, though as others have mentioned be careful of not getting it in your own eyes.

[desperado]

To be blunt throwing knives main role in ancient times was to slow the enemy down, they are not an effective stopping tool. Your not going to incapacitate someone with a throwing knife unless you nail them in a vital spot, which in turn probably would kill them. They just are not an effective weapon, why most forces do not train in them nowadays besides a select few.

But onto stun guns vs mace. Mace>stun guns, for several reasons. One mace is effective on more people. Secondly mace has less chance to kill a person, albeit boths chances to severaly harm/kill a person is pretty low (sever allergic reaction for mace and a weak heart for stun gun). Thirdly I have seen people get up after being hit by a tazer/stun gun. The barbed ones the police use will ussually take a person down but about half the ones that are easily accesible just hurt like heck, which in turn would leave a strong person royally angry, and very much wanting to hurt you badly.

Against mace though, as I had said earlier, is that mace does not work on some people and takes a few seconds to take effect. In any case the best method is to scream hit them with whatever you have and take off asap. Both dont last forever (though mace lasts longer) and when that person comes out of it they, which in most turns there behavior prior would show they would do such, hurt you very very badly.

Also you will want to replace mace after firing or a couple months of non fire. Might suggest to do a test fire to get a feel for the stream, range and focus. Also one last thing, dont go cheap, with mace and such you get what you pay for so buy the most expensive or close to it as you can find.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Please tell me that you were kidding around. Throwing knives? Geez.

I carry around a Balisong (Aka Butterfly Knife) with me at times.

[desperado]

I carry around a steel talon myself but it is ussually smarter to have background in martial arts before thinking of using a knife. Someone who is strong might just take it away from you and use it on you.

[Stephen]

Butterflies are illegal to carry. You can own one, (I own a few) But it is illegal to carry. And as a wise man once told me. If you pull a knife on someone, you better know what your doing. (And even people who do know what they are doing have died pulling knives on people) Because its nothing like the movies. 9 times out of 10 someone yanks a knife on someone they end up cut as well. Keep that in mind when you whip out a 5 dollar knife a friend sold you on some 250lb thug thats gonna beat you to death with a mailbox or somthing.

[desperado]

This is somewhat off topic but I find it amusing how many people who think that with a knife its trying to skewer someone and go around thinking that they can do such if they happen to carry one.

A knife fight is all about bleeding out the opponent, they are slow and very gruesome sights. If a knife is pulled on someone experienced you would truly need to be lucky or good to not come out pretty cut up.

[Stephen]

We can thank Hollywood for the modern view on knife fights. Everytime I have worked knife fighting with my instructor it has always been eye opening how fast you can be in horrible shape. Thats why it is better to avoid a knife fight, then carry a knife to start one.

[desperado]

I truly wish there was a dojo around here that taught knife's and other modern weapons...Tonfas swords and si are cool and all but not practical.

But yeah hollywood and company really give people some strange ideas on stuff.

[Radical Dreamer]

Well guys, guess what?

He got arrested!!

He had been in jail about 2-3 weeks ago, but someone got him out on bail. Well, since he didn't come to his court session, he got re-arrested with no bail. XD I looked at the record though, for his arrest, and there was a good three pages of stuff on him (mostly check forgery and fraud). He wasn't arrested for any sexual offenses since they never could catch him in the act, but my Bio2 teacher knows that he's done some things, be it harassment or something else.

Still, that's really exciting to hear!!

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Woah YESSS!!!