Con of living in Charlotte

Looking back on the last few days we have realized that Tuesday wasn't the first night.........

Sunday night between 10pm-11pm I was watching TV in the living room with all the lights on. I noticed headlights in my driveway and the dogs barked from the backyard so I got up and looked. It was my car. I went and asked PJ if he had set the alarm on my Jeep making the lights come on. He hadn't and was quickly alarmed that the headlights were on. We went outside and the headlights were now off. He checked my car and noticed the switch was turned to off, which I always leave my lights on auto. We checked out our backyard and around each side of the house....no one. A car came down our street and the lights hit our neighbors house. I saw what looked like a tall, thin male who turned and ran towards the back of their house. I questioned that maybe it was a shadow. Thought for a second and told PJ. No one was there when he went around, but could of easily jumped the short fence and gone up to Idlewild Rd. We locked my car and went to bed.

Monday night we locked my jeep early. Tuesday morning PJ went to get into his old ratty Jeep to go to work and noticed a few things moved. He thought he just wasn't remembering correctly.

Tuesday night around 11pm PJ went outside to get his wallet he forgot in his car and also his cooler for lunch. His dash was about ripped off. He looked in my Jeep and it was a mess in the front. He came inside to tell me. His wallet was missing and the change from my Jeep was gone. Both of our IPods were sitting in plain view and were not taken. The backs of our Jeeps were untouched. I called 911 to be informed that I had to wait until 7am to call 311 since it was non-emergency. PJ drove around like he was going to find the person. I called the bank to cancel the debit card and had to leave a message. His credit card didn't have 24hr theft report so we would have to wait until 8am. We looked at his credit card online and it was used! So we checked the bank card....also used!! They both have about an hr delay on posting, but we knew they had been used. All we had to go one was a gas station and store#. One of them was a Circle K. PJ got in the jeep and started to drive. I called around until I found the correct store, let him know which one. The cashier said she remembered the guy and he was a regular. There happened to be a CMPD there who waited until PJ arrived. He didn't want to take the report, but with PJ insisting he did. The cashier gave a description of the guy. I called the bank again and got through. The debit card would be canceled soon. I called PJ and said it was just used down the street at a Citgo. PJ notified the officer and went to the Citgo. There was a man there in a red car, wearing the same clothes, same hair just as the cashier described. PJ started following him and let the police know. The lady who took his call said she would send someone and hung up on him! I called and kept telling her I was worried PJ would confront the guy. That got them out there quick. PJ had followed him to an apartment building, but didn't know which one he went into. CMPD searched the guys car.....it was stolen and so were the tags. No sign that he was the guy in the car. They called in the K-9 unit and he sniffed out the guys apartment in no time. They looked into the back door and could see a women, hear a man, and another women. They were smoking up. CMPD surrounded the apartment and knocked. No answer. Knocked again and the door was opened. They entered with guns drawn. One of the women tried to go out the back door. After spending some time inside they didn't find anything saying it was the guy who used our cards.

Wednesday PJ and I went to the Circle K to speak to the manager. He told us that if we would come back the next day he would show the surveillance tape to us. So PJ watched the tape. It was not one, but two guys who used our card. The guy PJ followed and a very tall, thin guy just like I had seen Sunday night. The tall guy used the card while the officer was still in the store. After PJ had left to go down to Citgo. It shows the cashier not looking at the card at all, just swiping it. Now CMPD isn't interested in doing anything. It's a petty crime that they don't have the manpower to look into. Thankfully we aren't having any problems getting money back from our bank or credit card company. Although what PJ did Tuesday night was stupid there was no stopping him. The police commended him on such a creative effort in looking for the guy.

In total over $300 on our cards at 6 different gas stations on Albemarle Rd. and one just down the street from us. Sometimes it was used several times at one gas station. They tried to us the bank card again after it was canceled. It was denied at the Circle K and the cashier swiped it 3times, then was denied again at Citgo. In addition to his cards, his license and SS card were also in his wallet.