A true story from WSA student Patty

Catching Bad Guys in My Pajamas

I usually get up around 6:30 am but today I woke up before 6. Went out to the kitchen in my red nightgown and red fussy slippers and baby blue robe, poured my coffee and went to sit in my chair and have my morning devotions like I do everyday. Shaun came out to the kitchen to get his second cup of coffee and I heard him pour more water in the coffee maker. The coffee pot was sputtering as it made another cup. Boy it sure was noisy, made a funny popping noise. As I drank my coffee and tried to wake up I realized I was hearing noises but it wasn’t the coffee pot or the dogs that were stilled locked up in the kitchen.

I could hear noises coming from outside, between our house and the neighbors house. What in the world would Mike and Maryann the neighbors be doing outside this time of the morning? It was not garbage day. I decided to go outside to see what was going on.

I walked out onto our large deck that wraps around the back and side of our house. Walked to the edge of the deck and looked into the neighbor’s back yard. Nothing there. I walked toward the front of the deck and looked into their driveway. Nothing. What had I heard? Proceeded to walk to the front of the deck and looked down on our driveway and front yard. Suddenly a young man ran out from under my deck and across my front yard. He was running as fast as his feet could carry him. My mind tried to absorb every detail in the few seconds it took him to run across my yard and up the street out of site. I realized he was a young Hispanic male in his late twenties or early thirties, with short dark hair. He was wearing gray pants and a tray and white large stripped shirt. He was about the size of my youngest son Joey, 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighed about 150 pounds. Ran into the house locking the sliding door behind me which meant I slammed the wooden dowel in the track of the sliding door. Were there others trying to break into my garage or Shaun’s truck parked under the deck?

Shaun was in the den at the back of the house. He had heard me slam the dowel in the sliding glass door. “Shaun get Maggie!” I yelled. Maggie is our Ruger 357 revolver. From where I was standing down the hallway, I saw Shaun dart into our bedroom from the den to retrieve her.

“Someone was trying to break in! I saw him run across the front yard.”

“Call 911” he yelled back.

As Shaun headed out the front door in his robe and slippers with Maggie in his hand, I dialed 911.

“Police or fire department?” the female dispatcher asked.

“Police” I responded my voice shaky and a little high pitched. My heart was beating fast and I could feed the adrenaline.

“What is your name?”

“Patty McConnell”

“How can I help you?”

“Someone just tried to break into our garage. I saw him run across my front yard. He is running up Sagittarius.”

“Can you describe the suspect?” she asked.

“Yes” I said “a young Hispanic male wearing gray pants and a gray and white stripped shirt.”

“Are the stripes vertical or horizontal?” I thought about a prison uniform.

I thought for an instance “Horizontal, not vertical, like a polo shirt”

“How big is he?”

He was not big and I thought about Joey. “Not real tall maybe 5 foot 8 inches, probably about 150 pounds”.

I was told, “We’ll get someone there right away. What number can I reach you? “.Gave her home phone number.

As I hung up the phone, Shaun came back in the house. “They were trying to steal my outboard motor off the boat!”

I followed him outside to see what had happened. The tarp that normally covers the boat was neatly folded back to expose the motor. On the ground lay a large pair of yellow handled bolt cutters. The lock had been cut and was lying on the cement. Only one bolt remained to be unscrewed and the motor could be lifted off the boat. Shaun’s Ford truck was facing the boat. We debated what to do.

“You better stay out here in case they come back to finish the job and get the motor.”

“I’ll sit in the truck with Maggie. Go call the police again and tell them what’s happened.”

Dialed 911 again.

“This is Patty McConnell and I just called a few minutes ago. He was trying to steal our outboard motor off our boat. Are you really sending someone and should we not touch anything?”

“Don’t touch anything, officers are on the way and should be there any minute.”

Ran out to tell Shaun. He was sitting in the truck staring at the boat, with Maggie resting on the console.

“Be sure to tell the police you have a gun so they don’t shoot you “I warned. Went back in the house to watch and wait for the police. The phone rang; it was 6:45am.

“Is this Patty McConnell?”

“Yes”

“This is the Reno police department. We have a suspect in custody. Do you think you can identify him?”

“Yes I can.”

“We will have an officer come by to get you and take you on a drive-by.” I wanted to ID the suspect but I did not want him to see me.

I hung up the phone and ran outside to tell Shaun what was happening. In the back of my mind I thought “I need to get dressed”.

“They have apprehended a suspect and are coming by to get me so I can identify him”. As I start back into the house hoping to change my clothes an office pulls up and parks in front of our driveway. Too late. All thoughts of changing my clothes disappear and I immediately walk towards the black and white police car. He greets me and begins to move his gear off the front seat into the trunk.

“Go ahead and get in. We’ll drive down to Hunter Lake so you can see if this is the man you saw”. It was as surreal as I sit in the police car in my pajamas my hair its usual morning disaster. I could not believe I was riding in a police car at six in the morning in my pajamas. Inside I was laughing. As we head out I tell him the story. He makes a comment about the incident happening when it is daylight.

As we make a right turn on Hunter Lake I see him sitting on the side walk behind the police car with his hands in handcuffs behind his back.

“Oh that’s him!” I respond immediately. There was no doubt in my mind. He was wearing gray pants and the gray and white stripped polo shirt. It was amazing that I had described him perfectly. I looked at his face as we drove by. That was the only part of him that I had not seen.

The officer drove past the young man sitting on the sidewalk and the police car and pulled over along the curb. “I’ll be right back” He got out of the car leaving it running. I looked at the computer in his car a map displayed on the screen with my street name highlighted. I looked in the side mirror and I could see the suspect sitting there. It was such a good feeling knowing they had caught him.

“He told them he was jogging” the officer said as he got back in the car. We chuckled. The suspect had ratted on his accomplish and now everyone was looking for someone driving a Mercury, the get away car.

When we arrived at the house, Shaun was outside waiting for me. I told him they had caught him,

“Way to go honey!”

“Well now the fun begins, paperwork” He had a clipboard with a form attached.

We walked into the house and introduced our selves as we sat at the kitchen table. Maggie was laying on the kitchen table her five cartridges lying beside her.

“I carried a 357 when I was first started on the police force”. He picked her up and handled her like she was an old friend.

Officer Fred explained the form on the clipboard and I wrote down everything that I could remember.

Shaun told Fred that he looked like our neighbor Mike. Another office arrived so we went outside to the crime scene. For the first time we took it all in.

“He cut the cable and the safety cord! He didn’t need to do that” Shaun moaned in disgust. “And he busted the handle!”

Soon two plain white cars with detective arrived to gather all the evidence. CSI was on site right under my deck. All the officers tried to determine the best place to lift a finger print. One detective had a finger print kit and began dusting the motor and the back of the boat with a black powder. We left him to do his job and as we walked into the driveway I saw the neighbors Mike and Maryann leaving their house for their daily early morning walk. Seeing all the commotion and police cars, they walked over to us. I was wound up and retold the story. As Officer Fred walked up to where Mike and I were standing I said “This is my neighbor Mike.”

“Apparently I look like you” Officer Fred said to Mike. Yes I thought you two do look alike.

“When I went out to get the paper this morning I saw a car sitting on our side of the street and thought that was odd.” Mike said. Happened to be the Mercury everyone was looking for. The driver, the girl friend, had fallen asleep and had been there the whole time, a half a block from our house.

There was a divine chain of events that had taken place that morning. First of all, I usually don’t get up that early. Normally I would have been asleep and Shaun would not have heard anything from the far end of the house. Secondly when I went out on the deck to find out what the noise was, I walked directly over where the crime was happening. As I continued to walk around on the deck I had scared the would-be thief. So he ran, but he ran the wrong way. He ran up the street, uphill all the way. Girl friend accomplish was asleep in the car down the street. If he had run the other way, he could have jumped in the car and they would have gotten away scot-free.

In June of this year, I took my first class from the Woman’s Shooting Academy, Introduction to Handguns. I fell in love with shooting with my first experience and as a result Maggie came to live with us. My mindset changed as I became aware of how important it is to be conscious of our surroundings and what is going on. There are bad guys out there who try to do bad things. My curiosity was aroused when I heard unusual sounds at an odd time so I went to investigate. All these events had allowed me to help catch a bad guy in my pajamas.

December News

Be sure to become a fan of WSA on Facebook.

Reno police warn of criminals targeting shoppers.
(Recent RGJ Article)

Reno police are cautioning residents that holiday excitement can leave you vulnerable to criminals looking for as target.

Vehicle burglaries increase as criminals find gifts in busy shopping center parking lots. Lt. Mike Whan said. In the last two weeks, Reno police and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office received more than 90 calls about vehicle thefts.

“Thieves are looking for opportunities,” Whan said. “Don’t think they’ll avoid busy shopping centers. They will pull up right next to you and break inside.”

Homes are also vulnerable. In the last two weeks, more than 70 burglaries were reported to Reno police and the sheriff’s office.

Whan said to close window blinds and drapes and lock doors. Many residential burglaries occur during the day when people are at work, he said.

“Don’t let people see what you have,” he said.

Reno police recommend:
o Shop during daylight. If you must shop at night, go with a friend or family member.
o Avoid wearing expensive jewelry.
o Don’t carry a purse or wallet.
o Carry a driver’s license or identification card, necessary cash, checks or a credit card you expect to use in a pocket outside of a wallet or purse.
o Avoid carrying large amounts of cash, and keep it in your front pocket.
o Stay alert to your surroundings. Knowing who is near is the first step to being secure. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, move in the direction of witnesses.
o Display confidence by walking with a purpose, scanning the area around you and making causal eye contact with others.
Beware of strangers approaching you for any reason. At this time of year, con-artists may try various methods of distracting you with the intention of taking your money or belongings.
o Trust your instincts. If you have an intuitive feeling something is wrong, trust your instincts and react immediately to reduce your risk. If someone approaches you and you feel uncomfortable, move or ask for assistance.
o When you observe suspicious behavior, note specifics about the person and or vehicle and contact police.
o Keep a record of your credit card numbers in a safe place at home, and notify the credit card issuer immediately if your credit card is lost, stolen or misused.

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In closing, I want to to say thank you. The Women's Shooting Academy has had an amazing year. I am humbled when I look back and reflect on this past year. None of this would have been possible if not for many of you. It's friends and students like you that continue to inspire me. Thank you for your continued support.

I wish you much joy and peace~

Merry Christmas

Vicki-