Please read the below and look at the pictures.  Be alert for this vehicle or this individual. IF YOU SEE HIM – DO NOT APPROACH HIM – CALL THE POLICE – HE IS ARMED WITH A KNIFE – DO NOT APPROACH HIM – IT IS NOT WORTH YOUR LIFE –CALL THE POLICE AT ONCE.

The following is important information for all people in our community. It concerns damage to our Neighborhood Camera System by Bad Guys.

My second street camera was destroyed the morning of 6 July 2016 at 0600hrs by, I believe, the same individual who destroyed one of my cameras on 17 June 2015. He came walking down 136^th Ave. E. turned down 117^th took a wide circle around my camera on 138^th Ave, Ct, E, and destroyed it.  He has obviously got a problem with me or he is setting up to rob the Neighborhood.  Checking the other cameras it appears that he also destroyed one of our neighborhood cameras at Dav Eide’s house (11728 136^th Ave. E.), and that one cost us around $500.00. Thus far he has destroyed a $135.00 camera (2015), a $175.00 camera (28 June 2016) a $100.00 camera (6 July) and a $500.00 camera (6 July). He used a knife to cut through the cables on my cameras so he is armed and dangerous.

On 6 July we got some pictures of him, but he was hiding his face when he passed the cameras. I am certain now that the bad guy was working with a driver and that they were using a Dark Green SUV license number AYS7390.  That vehicle appears on both days when our cameras were destroyed (28 June and 6 July 2016).  On 28 June the vehicle came down 136^th turned on 117^th passed slowly by the camera I had trainer on 117^th St E., circled around on 138^th Ave. Ct. E. then turned up toward 136^th Ave, E., where it appears that he parked the vehicle and the Bad Guy got out. He then walked down 117^th St. E., staying to the side so the camera on 117^th would not trigger, came around from the side and destroyed the camera.  On 6 July 2016 it appears that the vehicle made a pass along 136^th St. E., doubled back and stopped long enough to let the bad guy out.  He came walking past the cameras at 11728 136^th Ave E., and destroyed the D-Link (11728n136) at 11728 136^th Ave. E. around 0600 hrs. Then I think he continued down 117^th, destroyed my camera (at 11701 138^th Ave. Ct. E.) and walked out past the 11728 136^th Ave. E.  cameras again, to presumably be picked up by the driver further down 136^th.  The times shown are a little off because of the difficulty of keeping all the cameras time synchronized.

This afternoon (7 July 2016) Dav and I found that the Bad Guy had come back at 0413hrs riding a motorcycle.  He came on Dav’s property and retrieved the connector box for the camera he had stolen on 6 July.  He removed the connectors and left the box down the street towards Military.  Alan Manning and I went to the Sheriff’s office and reported the crime.  The case number is 16-189-01173.

One of our major problems continues to be lack of support by many of our neighbors. If there were more cameras out there, in private homes, with at least one camera mounted so that it showed the street, we would be better off.  We need to be able to track the bad guys if something happens. The cameras don’t have to be connected to our Neighborhood network, but we need to know who to contact if a problem arises. As individuals we have to protect ourselves and our neighbors.

Bear scat has been sighted again in a heavily populated area bordered by 122nd St E., 136th Ave. E. and 138th Ave. E. in the attached photo. Its presence has been reported to Fish & Wildlife 1-360-902-2928 (option 2).

Location of Bear Scat                                                                      Bear Scat

Just a few minutes ago I received a call from 607-233-4558. The Caller ID said Ithaca, NY. The woman on the other end a (something) Gray said that I had committed a serious Federal Crime and I was to call 607-233-4558 immediately. This was my second and last warning and if I did not comply there would be serious consequences.

It was an obvious scam and I promptly reported it to the FBI (WWW.IC3.GOV), the Pierce County Sheriff, and NOMOROBO (https://www.nomorobo.com/). If you haven’t got the NOMOROBR service, get it, it’s free and works like a charm for numbers which have been reported.

Please be aware that the scammers are targeting people in all walks of life. If someone calls you with something like this, just hang up. Legitimate government agencies don’t work this way.

One of our neighbors sent this in for the Blog.

Tis the Season

to have your packages stolen

Nowadays almost everyone gets packages from shopping online.  Costco, Amazon.com, Sears, Walmart; it seems like almost every retailer has an online presence. More frequently during the Holiday Season there are shoppers out there who are shopping for packages left at your front door.

This season let's make it harder for the bad guys and girls. When you order things, try to keep up with the tracking numbers and know when to expect them.  If you are not going to be home, ask a neighbor to keep a lookout for your package.  If the item is particularly valuable, ask for the driver to obtain a signature before leaving it.

I have cameras which record my visitors,and my deliveries.  If you don't have a camera system at your home, perhaps you might consider purchasing a wildlife camera just to record the coming and going of delivery men during the Holiday Season.  Wildlife or train cameras, as some people call them, can be purchased for prices between $50 and $200.

If you do purchase a wildlife camera, be sure to place it in a place where it will not be noticed.  Otherwise you might be missing your package and your wildlife camera.

Continue reading →

At 1345hrs on 30 Aug 2015 a group of people were observed spread across 136th Ave. E. in the blind curve.  Photos were retrieved from the Neighborhood cameras. The truck towing the “Trikes” was a blue Toyota Tacoma license number D52956K.  The Sheriff’s Office has been notified and supplied with pictures which show that these people reached the bottom of Jennifer Ct. E.. Fortunately no one was coming around the curve to meet these people. They left our Neighborhood at 1425hrs. Several of them were wearing GoPro cameras (about $400+ each).

Kirk POSTED the following alert: Recently in Seattle a burglar confronted by a doggy door sized for a small dog used a piece of wire to unlock the deadbolt and enter a residence. Moral of the story from Kirk’s perspective is – Pet Doors are not safe unless they are locked when you are not at home or are asleep.   When Kirk asked me to review his BLOG I was reminded about my own Doggy Door which is similar is size to the one shown in the URL below:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Thief-uses-doggy-door-to-burglarize-Seattle-home-313107481.html

This story serves to remind us all of the unintended security vulnerabilities we can introduce to our own residences from the best of our intentions.

It is almost the 4th of July and we have not had any rain to speak of in weeks.  Things are very dry folks.  That means when people set off fireworks, their chances of starting a wildfire are very good.

It would be a good idea this 4th if people in our Neighborhood kept a hose ready in case a stray spark landed near their house.

Recently we had an incidence of vandalism in the Neighborhood.  The brave vandal came around at 30 minutes after midnight and made a second pass through the Neighborhood at 38 minutes past midnight. He cruised down 136th turned down 117th toured 138th, then up to 136th, right to Jennifer Court back up to 136th, down to 138th then back up and out of the Neighborhood.  According to several people who looked at the pictures  he was driving a mid 1990s two door, dark Honda Civic.  He was wearing a hoodie and what looks like basketball shorts.  His photograph is below, showing his skinny legs and beard.  If anyone has seen him please give Dav or me a call or e-mail us. This vandalism was reported to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Thanks to all of you who gave me input for this post.