Mara Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Okay, I will try to keep this as short as I can. I think my neighbors are trafficking in "illicit substances". Here's the background: They inherited their townhouse from the husband's dad. They have three kids, ranging in age from 9 down to (I think) 5 or 6. Neither parent appears to work. They have one beat up Chrysler Pacifica van that leaves and returns frequently, but never for long enough for anyone to be at a job out of the home. Often they van will leave, return 5 minutes later, leave AGAIN 10 minutes after that, and return 20 minutes later, lather, rinse, repeat. That in and of itself isn't enough to rouse my suspicions, though - lots of people have unique employment arrangements. What does make me think something's up is the number of cars coming and going at all hours. Lots of out-of-county plates, and no one stays terribly long ( a couple of hours is the longest I've noticed). Sometimes Kevin (that is the husband, and I know his name from hearing the wife scream it in the front yard at the top of her lungs when he's driven off without her) will leave with one of these unknown arrivals - they'll be gone for a few minutes, then back. Oh, and once I'd turned into my street to come home and a police officer had pulled the van over and had Kevin cuffed and leaning against the side. What sucked was that all the kids were in there. But ten minutes later they pulled into their driveway and he got out looking as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. . . Before anyone wonders how I know so much - it's townhomes, close proximity, and they are 3 doors down. Plus I am an insomniac, and I'll sometimes take the dogs for a short stroll late, late, late if I can't sleep. So it's not hard to see things. There is ONE reason I haven't called the non-emergency police number, and that's the kids. They are some of the sweetest, politest, well-spoken and respectful kids I have ever met. I talk to them a lot when I'm out in the afternoons/early evenings with the dogs - they love Lance, my hound, and it's mutual. Christian, the oldest, was so proud this past spring that he'd made the honor roll AND won the summer reading contest. They're clean and well-fed, with clean nice clothes. Whatever is going on in this house - the kids are not getting neglected. We all know what will happen if the police show up and find something. Into Child Protective Services go the kids, which pretty much means their lives get a hell of a lot harder. Maybe there isn't anything up. I don't know. I've had a chance to talk to the mom a few times and she seems pretty nice. Once or twice I've talked to the dad - I gave them some old concrete blocks so the kids would have something to anchor their basketball goal, and he was most appreciative. One of our other neighbors, who we know pretty well, is sure they're dealing. But J. is sort of suspicious in that regard, as he was the one who got the meth-heads busted last year. (Gotta love a neighborhood with foreclosures - it sure brings in the trash). Thoughts? Anyone had a similar experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Principled Man Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 That's a bad situation. I don't envy you. It could be the husband who's doing all the naughty business. Perhaps the mother is the one who's rearing the kids so well....but that's a best-case scenario. The out-of-county visitors are a huge sign that they're up to no good. If there isn't any violence or disturbing of the peace, then there's not much to do about it. You could inform the police about all of the out-of-county visitors and the frequent comings and goings, but that's about all you can do. Perhaps an anonymous letter in their mailbox? Letting them know that their neighbors are concerned about all the "visitors"..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go2wrk@95974 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Hi, Mara That sounds like a drug pusher to me. It's a tough situation because you don't want to be a fink..then on the other hand, those kid's are in a real bad situation, or maybe even a dangerous one. I don't know what you should do though..You've got to think about your safety of not only yourself,but your family member's and also your other neighbor's...thats a tough one. They're obviously into some kind of illegal activity..should you notify the cops..probably.They'll be able to keep it under raps, and keep you anonymous..hopefully. Don't call the cops,though. Go directly to the police station..don't want the pusher's to hear ya..If they're pusher's,they have lots of $$$ and gun's/knive's. Hope everything turns out alright. I would also ask the other neighbor's to watch the house for a few days/week too,before contacting the cop's.. Just make sure your dealer/neighbor's don't hear ya.That's all I can come up with...still half asleep! Hope this helps some. Edited August 10, 2011 by go2wrk@95974 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khan Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I would notify the cops anonymously. Polite kids or not...any parent who exposes their children to a drug environment like that is dead to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Sellers aren't always "armed to the teeth". I'm not at all afraid of the neighbors themselves. But where there are drugs being sold, there is also money, or at least the perception that there's a pile of cash stowed away somewhere in the home. That in and of itself makes the neighborhood a very attractive target for criminals. I'm really struggling with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarKid 1880 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I say that you gotta set up video camera's around the perimeter of there house, then surveillance them until you get a good enough answer. Or, you could do it the easy and not-as-fun way and follow the van-driver. That works to. I would do option one if I was you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go2wrk@95974 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 QUOTE (GuitarKid 1880 @ Aug 10 2011, 07:50 AM) I say that you gotta set up video camera's around the perimeter of there house, then surveillance them until you get a good enough answer. Or, you could do it the easy and not-as-fun way and follow the van-driver. That works to. I would do option one if I was you WRONG answer...GONG..your'e fired as a copper detective. ..Holy smokes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Principled Man Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 QUOTE (GuitarKid 1880 @ Aug 10 2011, 09:50 AM)I say that you gotta set up video cameras around the perimeter of their house, then surveillance them until you get a good enough answer. Or, you could do it the easy and not-as-fun way and follow the van-driver. That works to. And, of course, in both these scenarios, the "suspect" would be nice and congenial and very cooperative with you. He would not raise any objections to what you're doing. He would actually welcome all the cameras and your following him around town..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxster Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umoveme Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 That's a tough situation. I had a very similar problem. The thing that bothered me was all of the scum bag traffic. The neighbors were "nice" so I never did anything, but the constant flow of traffic bugged the hell out of me and they would sometimes park in my parking area, but they'd quickly apologize and move...They ended up getting kicked out of the house. I got lucky. Good luck.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILSnwdog Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Call the police from the pay phone and give them a tip. Those aren't the boy scouts that are coming and going. You don't need those kinds of people visiting your neighborhood. My aunt and uncle had a drug dealer living across the street from them. One morning at around 4:00AM, someone emptied an .357 on the dealer's house. Luckily, nobody was hurt. My aunt said the bullet holes went completely through the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesweetscience Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 QUOTE (Khan @ Aug 10 2011, 10:29 AM) I would notify the cops anonymously. Polite kids or not...any parent who exposes their children to a drug environment like that is dead to me. I was thinking that too. how long until the parents behavior rubs off on the children? Still it is a difficult situation for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostworks Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 there's no 'grey area' when it comes to illegal activity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Mara, didn't you have the exact same issue about a year ago? What happened in that situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobodys hero Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Contact the police whether you do it face to face or anonymously is up to you. Explain everything to them and let them handle it. They will probably step up patrols to the area and then they can see for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (Janie @ Aug 10 2011, 03:00 PM) Mara, didn't you have the exact same issue about a year ago? What happened in that situation? Those were the meth-heads. Other neighbors got involved there, and when a van pulled up to the corner and dropped off 4 people and three huge duffel bags, one eagle-eyed guy was on the phone to the cops immediately. Yes, the duffels were full of drug paraphernalia. Everyone involved got hauled off to jail, and the resident will be there for a while as he's a repeat offender. (It had been established by a prior police visit that "at least the guys aren't cooking meth in the house." Well, great). I've been suspicious of these folks for a very long time, at least a year; it's only been recently that I've seriously started considering trying to do something about it. I've kind of been hoping that someone else would, I guess. Edited August 10, 2011 by Mara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunter Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 QUOTE (nobodys hero @ Aug 10 2011, 11:03 AM) Contact the police whether you do it face to face or anonymously is up to you. Explain everything to them and let them handle it. They will probably step up patrols to the area and then they can see for themselves. This. I work for the DA and can't tell you the number of cases that come across my desk that ended badly because "they seemed nice enough but I was suspicious." That is what the police are for. Let them do their job. If nothing illegal is going on they'll determine that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Okay. But how do I deal with knowing that I had a hand in three happy, well-cared-for children getting yanked out of their home by DFACS? No, I totally agree that living with pushers for parents (I've never seen ANY indication that would make me think anyone in the home uses) is not Good Healthy Family Structure. But neither is being a ward of the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostGirl Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 QUOTE (Mara @ Aug 10 2011, 02:53 PM) Okay. But how do I deal with knowing that I had a hand in three happy, well-cared-for children getting yanked out of their home by DFACS? No, I totally agree that living with pushers for parents (I've never seen ANY indication that would make me think anyone in the home uses) is not Good Healthy Family Structure. But neither is being a ward of the state. They aren't REALLY well-cared-for kids if there's drug stuff going on...are they? How long till a deal goes wrong and one of the kids is hit by stray gunfire? Or some coked out loser does something crazy because their stuff wasn't the best quality? I agree that it seems like there isn't a good choice, but sometimes, you have to do what would cause the LEAST amount of harm. Seems pretty clear that some official investigating needs to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fledgehog Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 only skimmed, but it's their business not yours...theyre going to get caught eventually and it's better (for a lot of reasons) to stay out of it. i wouldn't report anything, and if anyone asked if i knew anything i'd deny it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdryan Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Turn em in,, simple,, igrew up in Flint Michigan, nice place until things started to change, the house behind us was like that,, b4 we knew it, our house was getting broken into in broad daylight,, get the riff raft out period...... good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shail Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 i hate rats. any shape of form. if they are killers and are killing by the millions maybe a good idea to call the pigs. if they are just dealing pot and maybe some pills no harm there. the neighbors around here call the freaking police if you breath to much air or just flat out live your normal life. old neighbors suck. just die already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USB Connector Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I had a similar experience. What gave them away to us was the cleverly hidden tiny security cameras on the four corners of the house disguised as 2 inch gutter extensions. We were good neighbours to them and never said a word. One day they packed up and left. They even offered the house to us for almost half of what they were asking. I presume they were close to getting caught. I prefer not to get involved with these things, you never know who you're dealing with and what they're capable of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Ways Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Are the disturbing you? If not, why report them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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