[miharris]

Looks like its a trip back to the big house for him for an extended stay.

[Boomer]

Well........one evening, a while back, I saw something in Brownwood......

Two young women, dressed in rather revealing tops and booty shorts, were helping an older guy to the parking lot. One on each arm.

They all looked happy enough.

I know nothing untoward or unseemly ever happens in TV, so I just thought how nice it was of those two ladies to be helping that guy find his car.

Boomer

[Lea N]

Originally Posted by Randall55

Interesting that he robbed a home of a single woman. They must have met somehow, prior. I doubt that the home was a random pick.

I hadn't thought of that but you are right.

Many years ago my husband and I lived in CT. I rented an apartment that was downstairs from the apartment he lived in. I was the only single woman living in the apartments in this house (old Victorian that had been renovated to apartments.)

The original landlord was a kind older man (I was in my 20's, he was in his 80's.) He passed away and left the rental property to his two daughters. They really didn't want anything to do with it and did minimum work on the place.

They hired someone to paint the outside of the place. He painted by himself. At that time I worked two jobs but was home and was vacuuming. He knocked at the door and asked if he could use my phone. I let him in and he made a quick phone call and then sat on the couch as though he was invited to do so. I was busy cleaning and told him to leave. He wouldn't. So I started vacuuming again and he left right away.

I told my husband what happened (remember we weren't married yet.) About a week or so later I looked out my back window and there was a police car parked in the back parking area. I called my husband and jokingly said there is a police car in the back, what did you do? He said he is here with me right now and wants to talk to you to. At first I thought he was joking.

I went upstairs to talk with the police officer. He asked all kinds of questions about this man and if he had hurt me. He seemed very concerned. This painter had a tattoo on both hands, one said love and one said hate.

It turns out he had raped and murdered several women, I don't know how many. I don't know if he was ever caught. He had been on America's Most Wanted but I didn't know it at that time he showed up at my door.

My heart goes out to the woman this happened to. She must have been so scared and probably doesn't feel safe in her home anymore.

[Lea N]

Originally Posted by Eg_cruz

They watch women at the stores and restaurants then follow them home. There use to be a couple that went to the doughnut shops looking for single women and elderly couples to take advantage of.

Wow! The things these scum bags think of.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Randall55

We have spoken to an officer about it. The officer was in the square after a womans's purse was snatched. He told us there is petty crime in the squares and cause to be alarmed. He told us to stay on guard and be alert.

It does not occur EVERY NIGHT while we are enjoying our nightly walks. When it does, we do not follow the men and investigate. If we feel a woman is being followed, we alert her. Never once was the woman angry with us or laughed. There is one particular guy who runs when we point him out. His running away tells us that he is up to something. This is the person we pointed out to the officer. We have not seen him in quite some time.

I see you are catching flak from some in this thread. I don't think you deserve that.

I think the way you are handling this is fine. Your wife is with you when you tell the woman who might be being followed. You are not chasing after the guy who appears to be following.

My guess is you are naturally observant, perhaps because of a military background, or maybe because you happen to be one of those people who does not miss much.

(I was stalked once. An observant man stopped it.)

There are those who do not want to think about anything possibly going wrong in a place with almost 150,000 people, or whatever that number is. Overall, TV is safe by comparision to most places, but still.........

Boomer

[Randall55]

Originally Posted by Boomer

I see you are catching flak from some in this thread. I don't think you deserve that.

I think the way you are handling this is fine. Your wife is with you when you tell the woman who might be being followed. You are not chasing after the guy who appears to be following.

My guess is you are naturally observant, perhaps because of a military background, or maybe because you happen to be one of those people who does not miss much.

(I was stalked once. An observant man stopped it.)

There are those who do not want to think about anything possibly going wrong in a place with almost 150,000 people, or whatever that number is. Overall, TV is safe by comparision to most places, but still.........

Boomer

I am a big boy. I can take flak. What I can't take is watching someone possibly being targeted by others. It never fails to amaze me that some believe there is no crime or mischief in the Villages. There are many opportunistic individuals who come here looking to take advantage of the residents. My wife and I have met our fair share.

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Man steals car during home invasion in The Villages, crashes it in Ocala, deputies say

Lock him up...again...

Perhaps we should subcontract our prison system to some company in Mexico.

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by Nanlob

Pray tell. What does "melanin persuasion" mean?

His skin color (race) was the same.

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by Bealman

If you are trying to be funny or serious, please stop. It is a ludicrous statement with no point but to stir emotions on certain issues. If that was your intention, hopefully no one but me replies.

Yes. Definitely keep a loaded gun in your house. Empty does no good when some one has already violated your home. Alternatively don’t keep a loaded gun in your house. That is also your Second Amendment right. I will not judge you for it either way. If I am able to, I will try to defend you and save you and your family’s lives.

[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by Bruce3055

I think 3 strikes refers to life without parole for the 3rd conviction. There are some very sad cases where that resulted in excessive prison terms and great cost to the state.

Isn't it possible for the judge / jury to impose appropriate sentences that may include life on a case by case basis without a 3 strike rule?

Three strikes rule for a life sentence is arbitrary. All it was meant to do was prevent lenient sentences from stupid judges. We need better judges who met out reasonable sentences who can evaluate the criminal “behavior” of the person

[Steve]

Originally Posted by The Gazette

A Village’s woman experienced a frightening ordeal after a man broke into her house and stole her Cadillac this morning. Around 7:30 a.m., Michael A. Prouty, 39, forced his way into a residence on Ballesteros Drive where he engaged in a brief struggle with a woman before fleeing the scene with her cellphone, purse and

More...

Not to knit-pick with the good folks at "The Gazette", but as a former radio news director it seems to me a very important word was left out of this story..."alleged". Even with all the overwhelming evidence at hand (photos, eyewitness accounts, etc.) this guy is still innocent until found guilty in a court of law.

[Indydealmaker]

Originally Posted by LaLaLuna

SORRY BUDDY - your point was lost to me no matter how valid it may be once your racism kicked in. This world of ours does not stand chance unless we all change the way we see our neighbors.

Why condemn the OP for reporting the situation as it was? Racism is not recognizing that there ARE people who are sympatico with others simply because of their mutual race. Failure to understand this does not make you a non-racist, just an non-realist.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed

Three strikes rule for a life sentence is arbitrary. All it was meant to do was prevent lenient sentences from stupid judges. We need better judges who met out reasonable sentences who can evaluate the criminal “behavior” of the person

Not sure what is arbitrary about counting to three.

I do believe too many things have been "felonized." Felonies should be reserved for something more serious than, for example, a teacher having the wrong book in a classroom.

In this case it seems reasonable to believe that more than a few of the 12 felony convictions were for serious offenses. If "3 strikes and you're out" seems too harsh, what about 5 or 8 or 11? Everyone deserves a second chance (or third or seventh or...) but, "the thirteenth time is the charm," sounds ridiculous.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by cjrjck

Maybe for your neighborhood but keep that nanny state stuff away from me. I find The Villages to be relatively crime free with just the right balance of security and freedom.

People tend to feel confident about their SAFETY until something happens to THEM. Then it is a whole different world. For example, that representative in Maine changed his mind about assault weapons when there was a murder rampage in HIS district. I, personally, had over $1,000 worth of tools stolen several years ago as my house was broken into. Police investigated and came up with ZERO.
.......That was years ago and today crime has increased in The Villages. Believe me, you do NOT forget it when your home is burglarized. And it could have been worse if we were there at the time. People that have NEVER had a home break-in are a little too quick to dismiss the NEED for more POLICE by saying things like "nanny state", which makes no sense to me. More Police and equipment would not affect the law-abiding citizen, just the law-breaking ones that take advantage of The Villages being a "soft target".

[Diverdave]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Man steals car during home invasion in The Villages, crashes it in Ocala, deputies say

Lock him up...again...

Florida reintroduced Chain Gangs back in the 90s. Let that guy spend the next 20 years or so in the hot sun and mosquitos cleaning up roadways.