Cased At The Bank, Car Robbed While Getting Haircut!!

TenSense,

I'm really sorry to hear about you being robbed and having your damaged.

Don't let the thief stop you from roll hunting and visiting the banks. If you do then the thief has won because now he has instilled fear in you. He now controls you with that fear. You may have to change your patterns (i.e. get a haircut first and then get rolls from the bank) but that's OK. It could be a freak incident in that you could repeat the same routine next week and nobody will take anything from your car.

Along those same lines, I remember my Dad yelling and screaming at me when I crashed off my bicycle as a teenager. He called me all sorts of nasty names as if I crashed on purpose to humiliate him or something. It's not like I lost my good judgment and made a mistake on purpose. Then, the next day, he would tell me that I should be afraid of the bike and be more careful because I couldn't control the machine. It completely discouraged me and I stopped riding for a number of years. In the end I was not afraid of the bike as much as I was afraid of his anger and censure. It took me many years to rediscover the joy of riding.

The whole point I am (repeatedly) making is that you shouldn't feel discouraged to roll hunt. Keep at it, and find those gems!

That said, I have to ask this. Did the thief look through your glove compartment? Do you keep your auto registration there? He may have gotten your home address. From a tactical perspective, if I were you, I would double check the locks on the windows and doors at night. Tell your story to your neighbors so that they can be on the look out for strangers wandering the neighborhood. You reported the robbery to the police so they can help watch out for you being targeted. Don't be quiet about this. The more people around you know then the more they will be vigilant and watchful.

-- Boris

It was actually my car; they were after what was in the trunk. I was actually already prepared for any encounter at home - I'm armed, have a home security system, and have logged some range time already.

That sucks, but as others have said, don't let it discourage you.
Another point, Dave suggested pepper-spray at home which is a good idea, but an alternative is Wasp/Hornet spray. It shoots like 20 -25 feet so you don't have to be as close and it will certainly stop someone if it's aimed at their face.

My Dad used to keep a can of CRC 2+2 (all purpose automotive parts cleaner) under the counter with the red straw (for laser beam close range targeting) inserted to kill persistent bee's with. One day some punk came to the counter and tried to hold him up with a knife (across a 3 ft counter, he was a dumb punk)... he was still rolling around on the floor when the police got there.

I don't think he ever even knew he was also about to get cracked across the back with an old 74 Dart front torsion bar by one of the techs.

It is a very uneasy feeling. I have had my house broken into one time while I was at work (I think it was people at the time I considered my friends) and they stole everything in my house including my phones, since they knew I worked 12 hours they had plenty of time to get what they wanted. I used to always keep about 3000.00 in a drawer and I think that is the main thing they were looking for because the drawer I used to keep the money in was the one that was taken out and dumped into the floor where the others were just opened and pushed around. When you walk in and see everything gone it is a horrible feeling knowing someone else was in your personal space going through your personal things without permission. The chances of someone picking you out again in the same way is pretty slim, they usually just do this at random so I don't think I would stop roll searching if that is what you like to do, it would have been like me quitting my job because my house was broken into. This will always be in the back of your mind but as I said chances of it happening again is pretty slim unless it is someone that you know

It really does hurt when you get robbed and aa already noted, mainly be thankful you were not the one robbed, only your car. By that I mean things could have been much, much worse. Most people on this and other forums live in assorted areas of the world.
In some places you could leave all your doors and windows open and not be home for many hours and nothing would ever happen. I've been to locations such as that.
However, in the area I live a robbery like this one goes on all the time during the day and all night long. In my area people grow up taking every possible precaution just in case. Yet we have over 30,000 autos stolen per year. 500 to 800 murders within the city limits alone. Home invasions, robberies and rapes are uncountable.
Being followed from banks, coin stores, pawn shops, coin shows, gun shows, etc too is rather common. Such robberies are far from random. Criminals really do know what they are looking for and have a rather high success rate.
When going to any place where you may or may not encounter something worth a theft, get to know safety precautions.

My insurance deductible is $1000. Between that and the lock getting repaired, and eating it in jacked-up premiums, I just don't see making a claim as worthwhile.

I appreciate all the advice in this thread. I'm just in a position where it keeps running through my head that these scumbags waited while I left the bank, went and washed my car and vacuumed it, watched me while I went to get my hair cut -- and then moved in (either that, or while we were out later in the day).

I don't see any hobby being worth possibly allowing some cretin like that to get interest in me and find out where I live. You guys are giving the classic advice -- change routes -- but if these people were that determined, wouldn't they just stick with me on the various routes to still wind up at my home?

I think it is going to be internet-only for me from now on. That's only going to cut into my enjoyment for my hobby, but maybe when our sleazebag of a President starts placing the safety of his citizens above regulating gun sales to responsible owners (and scoring points with growing voting blocks), maybe things might change for me.

I weep for the state of this country, where a law-abiding citizen's car gets broken into in broad daylight, while our "Commander"-in-chief does nothing about openly illegal criminals protesting in public.

I'm looking at my four-month-old daughter right now. Can't justify painting myself as a target just yet. My wife was crying over this last night.

Excuse the rant; just hard to sleep tonight -- my wife and I managed to have a good anniversary night out, but part of me, despite being the live and let live guy I am, wishes only to find these people and make them pay. Thank God his Son is a better man than I am.