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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA neighbor invaded our home (no joke) Don't know what to do.
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Friday morning at 4 am, my guy (Al) and I were awakened by our 4 dogs barking like something was wrong. Al was still in bed but he was trying to soothe them. But then there was a light in our bedroom... it was a woman that we both know. She said she was on her way to work and she was driving by and that she noticed that our garage door was open and that the light in the garage was on. She said there were "crack-heads" at the (very) local park and that she wanted to warn us.
I know who she is and I know where she works. There is no reason she should be on our street to go to work.
My sister, also very local said that she was very worried about this woman... drug use. Maybe meth.
Al and I are now locking our doors (which we never felt the need to do).
Someone invaded our home. I'm having a hard time dealing with that. It's mucking with my sleep.
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eShirl
(20,236 posts)yeesh
MissMillie
(39,643 posts)but we were OUT as far as sleep goes. We have a weird sleep schedule.
But as far as I'm concerned no one should EVER enter someone else's home.
dembotoz
(16,922 posts)last night my kids ordered pizza hut and it was past my bed time.
they were upstairs i am on the first floor.
pizza arrived..doorbell rang...thought it was my phone and fuddled with that.
delivery guy comes back...rings again...i answer door...
guy asks for my kids...i call upstairs...they did not hear the doorbell...
not to excuse but to provide benefit of doubt.....
Hekate
(100,133 posts)...had to be trained to react to it as well -- but I don't think she would bark at someone just walking in like they owned the place, as she is a friendly little thing. That -- is what we have locks for.
Hah! As for your kids and their pizza, tell the little rascals to wait downstairs when they order out so they don't miss the delivery. 
JustABozoOnThisBus
(24,678 posts)Wring one of those, and it'll wake you.
Kidding. Glad you and yours (and your intruder) are all safe.
treestar
(82,383 posts)
3Hotdogs
(15,341 posts)Lock the door, feed the dogs well and you'll be alright.
WePurrsevere
(24,259 posts)if for no other reason than so they know they have someone doing this in the area. If she has family nearby they might want to know about it too and the police can look into that.
Of course it might be drug related but it could also be a psychiatric disorder. Dementia strikes at other than just elderly people too.
Obviously the woman needs help. I hope she gets it before someone protects their home with deadly force. 
GoCubsGo
(34,890 posts)Also, consider installing motion-detector lights outside your home. There are solar-powered models that are available, so you don't need an electrician to install them. It's a good idea to have something like that, anyway. People don't break into houses with the lights shining on them.
And, lock the doors.
Pachamama
(17,563 posts)Years ago in our neighborhood a friend woke up in the middle of the night to find a woman standing in her room talking away. Strangely her dog (a sweet golden retriever named Buddy) didn't even seem to be bothered. When my friend asked her what she was doing as she talked constantly about one matter or another and kept saying she couldn't find her bedroom, my friend called the police from her cell phone and when they came, said she lived less than 4 blocks away and had done this apparently before and had dementia.
It was a sad situation, but also scary to find yourself suddenly awakened with a stranger in your house. You feel so vulnerable and it is going to mess with your sleep. You were lucky. I think this woman was mentally ill or on drugs like you said. It was thankfully not someone intentionally breaking in to your home.
In time that fear will go away and you will sleep again. But locking your doors is always a good idea, especially at night.
True Dough
(26,603 posts)are fairly common these days. The drug epidemic is yet another reason to do it.
You could possibly go another 5 or 10 years, or the rest of your lives without another incident like that if you continue not to lock your doors. But the consequences could also be much worse if there is a next time.
This woman wasn't deterred by your four dogs? Are they all small breeds?
unblock
(56,188 posts)i don't want to ruin your sleep, but you need to be prepared for the possibility that this is not an isolated incident.
definitely lock the doors.
definitely notify police to start a paper trial.
document, document, document. simple as sending an email to a friend, just so you have the details *and a timestamp* for the events.
our friend had this happen to her repeatedly, so she even started erecting barriers of garbage cans and such so there would be a noise whenever he approached the house.
in your case hopefully there's no particular reason for this person to revisit your house as opposed to any other house (unlike the case for our friend given their previous marriage, kids, etc.) but i better safe than sorry.
even if it is the first and last time she does this to *your* house, it's likely not the last time she does it to *someone's* house, so it would be good for the police to know the details in case it's a pattern....
Croney
(5,009 posts)If so, maybe her intentions started out good and went south with muddled thinking. If your garage was closed and dark, or if you don't even have a garage, she needs urgent care.
MissMillie
(39,643 posts)She wasn't wrong about that.
But I can't think of ANY reason anyone would think it's OK to enter someone's home. No circumstance justifies that.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)But seriously, lock your doors. That’s spooky shit.
MrsCoffee
(5,825 posts)Perhaps she is the crackhead? (I assume your sister has reasons for her concerns).
You should take the advice of those in this thread saying you should inform the police.
obamanut2012
(29,357 posts)You send her a C & D letter. You get a restraining order. I would call the cops today, and do the rest first thing Tuesday.
That is a home invasion.
And, always, always lock your doors and windows.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)At least to get it on record before she comes back and slaughters you in your bed. There is nothing "harmless" or accidental about that encounter.
And lock your doors, for shit's sake.
HipChick
(25,612 posts)Corgigal
(9,298 posts)I also have a metal door brace that goes under the internal door knob, cost about 20 bucks. If you're coming in, gonna make a bunch of noises.
Scary stuff.
HipChick
(25,612 posts)Told the cops he was looking for his dog? Ring cam showed what he was actually trying to do...
Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)She came into your home and into your bedroom? HUGE red flag. Call the cops now and at minimum make a report. They can look and see if she has any history of stuff like this on record.
Was the garage actually open? If so, look and see if anything is missing. She could have been part of a team, she had an “excuse” to be there and occupy you while the other half stole from your
Had she been in your home before at all?
Were your doors locked?
My gut says either you were being cased to be robbed, you were going to be robbed and they changed their minds or you have been robbed and just didn’t notice the stuff gone yet.
mountain grammy
(29,013 posts)We also live where we often don't lock up, 25 years now. Heard of a string of buglaries and now we remind each other every night..lock up.
ansible
(1,718 posts)Holy crap, I thought that was just something old people did back in the 1900s. Lock your damn doors, the modern world today is a VERY dangerous place!
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Never heard of a place in the US where people don't feel the need to lock their doors.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)I've always locked my doors.
treestar
(82,383 posts)1970s. If they weren't home, you could just go in. It was a small town and everyone knew everyone else.
MissMillie
(39,643 posts).
WhiskeyGrinder
(26,930 posts)Otherwise, friends and neighbors come in and rifle through the medicine cabinet for pain pills, all casual like.
MissMillie
(39,643 posts)...the only thing potent in the house at that time was a case of beer.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Kaleva
(40,347 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)Thanks for sharing that.
I've never lived anyplace where I would even consider not locking my door.
milestogo
(23,063 posts)If my dog were barking like something was wrong, I'd reach for the phone.
Ilsa
(64,345 posts)If your cars are parked outside, keep them locked.
"Oh hey... I just invaded your house to warn you crackheads might invade your house...." sounds like projection to me.
Make a report of this to your police, or at least to someone outside your home in whom you trust.
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)
Trueblue Texan
(4,443 posts)ALWAYS. Just do it.
Grammy23
(6,122 posts)It’s not like we live in Mayberry with Barney Fife on duty. Even small towns have crime and thievery. Why make it easy for them? Often it is opportunistic. They try a door to see if it is locked or unlocked. One night someone came through our neighborhood looking for stuff in cars. Unlocked cars. Our vehicles are always locked. Our across the street neighbors don’t (or didn’t). Stuff was stolen from their car and ours was left untouched. Moral of story: Lock your doors, every time. Why give easy access to thieves?
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)She was in their BEDROOM. What would have happened if she was violent?
Bayard
(29,604 posts)And she shows up in your bedroom, and flips on the light? In plenty of homes, she'd have been shot.
That woman was up to no good.
SWBTATTReg
(26,253 posts)mental ability to actually go into another unfamiliar home in the neighborhood thinking that this was their home (it has happened, my grandmother was wandering the streets in her hometown, in her nightgown). The police fortunately knew who she was and took her back home (a very small town, population <1000).
I'd be safe and lock things up anyways and don't give anyone the benefit of the doubt. I kind of think in a way, you brought this on yourselves in that you kept the doors unlocked etc. I know that it is a nice sentiment (that you can keep your doors unlocked), but come on now, why? Are you in some sort of contest as to who is the nicest neighbor/person, keeping your doors unlocked? I would have never ever keep my cars/doors unlocked, never! Just being safe. Life is already hard enough.
KWR65
(1,098 posts)raccoon
(32,382 posts)have been murdered. They'd have heard the killers trying to break in and would be warned.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)
TheBlackAdder
(29,981 posts).
X-10 units are really cheap to buy and super easy to install. You can put them on your mailbox post, a tree, anywhere. Near all your doors, and they can be stained to match the house.
There are other brands out there too, that do the same thing. My neighbor has motion floodlights that ring a chime in multiple rooms in her house.
This is not meant to be an ad www.x10.com (always buy on sale or in bundle backs... super cheap!) or check elsewhere.
===
Garage doors also have a deadbolt type locking mechanism. Perhaps set that to lock and they won't get it open.
.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)What were your dogs doing through all this?
mainer
(12,549 posts)When I asked the landlord if we could install a lock, he said: "It hasn't had a lock since it was built. Why would you need one now?"
Yeah, there are still places like that in America.
demigoddess
(6,675 posts)opener and open your garage door without your real opener. Lock your door and install this kind of garage door opener so no one can come in so easily. And call those cops.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)Seriously?
Just been leaving it unsecured for anyone wanting to walk in?
And you're shocked someone did?
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)Forum Hosts feel this OP does not meet the SOP requirements for posting in the General Discussions Forum. Please post this in the DU Lounge.