Armed Car Jacking Near Harpoon Louies

[DavidWilliams]

Just got this via my neighborhood watch:

Received from a Venetia resident by Leighton Tesche.


Subject: Carjacking in front Harpoon Louie's



This is from my old friend Brant Boatright. Please read and be careful......

I'm going to post some info; hopefully it's not too much for you.

I was stopped at the light in front of Harpoon Louie's headed towards Ortega. A grey 4-door sedan with four "urban youts" pulled-up next to me at the light, in the lane that would take them by Eclipse towards Roosevelt. I looked over at them when they pulled level with me, but none of them were paying me any attention. I turned up the music as a favorite song had just begun.

As the light turned green, there was a sharp rapping on the passenger window; I looked over and saw a guy with an automatic pistol pointed at me, yelling at me to open the door. I frustrated him by not turning down my music, and pretending (wasn't hard) I was too petrified to move my hands.

A second jackass started sneaking up on the driver's side, and stayed behind my peripheral vision, but I saw him clearly in my side-view mirror.

I delayed long enough for the stoplight to cycle to red, and for another car to pull up behind me. That's when jackass #1 started yelling louder, and hit the passenger window so hard that I thought a shot had been fired. I figured I'd about taxed his patience enough, so I dropped the passenger window just enough for him to speak through. For reasons that were made clear only today, he now started yelling at me to take off my pants. The whole time, I had been yelling "What?" like I didn't understand what was going on. When he stuck the muzzle of his weapon through the slightly opened passenger window and pointed it directly at me, I dropped the charade and calmly (if only in *my* mind, anyway) exited and slowly began to undo and drop my shorts. It was at this time that the car behind me backed-up and did a U-turn. I later laughed to myself at the thought that it took a middle-aged guy standing in the middle of Herschel in his boxer-briefs to get them to turn around - not two hood rats with guns shaking down the car in front of them. FYI, they didn't find it necessary to call 911 to report what they'd seen. If you ever find yourself in that car's situation, *please* call 911 with the license plate numbers!

I managed to hold onto my shorts as jackass #2 jumped into the driver's seat and took off, closely followed by the other three in the grey sedan.

In talking to the two cops that responded last night, and after talking to my best friend (JSO Sergeant), I now more fully appreciate how things worked-out. If I had opened the door to let jackass #1 sit in the passenger seat, at the very least, I would have undoubtedly been taken on a tour of enough ATMs to empty my accounts. Worst case, I might not have survived to be writing this stuff on Facebook. Apparently carjacking is the last stepping-stone to outright murder, and the line of distinction is blurry.

Here are some lessons learned - keep them in mind!

- I was told to remove my pants because more and more people are carrying concealed weapons. Most of those are secured on the belt or waistline of the pants, so complying would make a weapon more easily visible, and less reachable to the victim.

- After they carjack a car, they're most often used in the commission of other crimes, ESPECIALLY the old trick of rear-ending someone and then following them to where they pull over to carjack THAT car, or to rob the driver.

- The Federal government mandated that Jacksonville distribute HUD housing throughout the city, so the violence that used to be confined to the Northside is now widespread. One opinion is that, if Avondale/Riverside residents knew how much crime was happening right under their noses, they would move away.

- Carjacking is considered a "forcible felony", so police are authorized to shoot-to-kill. Don't underestimate how much the officers want to rid our city of these vermin. DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO PLACE A 911 CALL *AS SOON AS POSSIBLE* AFTER A CARJACKING. Literally, seconds count. My idiot dispatcher took TEN MINUTES to dispatch from the time I called to when she hit her magic button. The officers that responded to my call were freaking furious with her.

- If you have Onstar, call them as soon as you place the 911 call. They can get things rolling in preparation for the police calling them. Onstar can also just shut your car's engine off and tell you where the car is. Memorize whatever authorization codes/words you created - don't count on having a wallet or purse to aid in working with Onstar!

This ain't the world of our childhood, my friends. I'm just glad I have memories of those days; it's a sad thing our kids won't. Stay safe people!

Cheers,
BB





Leighton Holmes Tesche
Vanguard Realty, Inc., Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
904-608-5481
Ltesche@aol.com
www.leightontesche.vanguardfla.com

[Timkin]

Wow!  Sorry to hear that.  Did they ever find these thugs?

[danno]

snip...................

Here are some lessons learned - keep them in mind!

- The Federal government mandated that Jacksonville distribute HUD housing throughout the city, so the violence that used to be confined to the Northside is now widespread. One opinion is that, if Avondale/Riverside residents knew how much crime was happening right under their noses, they would move away.

OMG

When I was growing up I don't remember having to go through a checkpoint when crossing the river!!!! Oh wait a minute, was that what the toll boths were really for?  I guess the northside was sort of like the Gaza Strip.

I guess you should expect to be carjacked like I was a few years ago since I live in Springfield..... Must of had it coming to me.

[ChriswUfGator]

If that happens, the best thing to do is to just floor it.

[Jumpinjack]

Chris is right. Hand prints on the hood of the car from a face-down run-over carjacker is a good thing.

[Dog Walker]

Chris, I was wondering about the same thing.  Why not?  Nobody in front.

Learned a good tip from a JSO safety class;  always make sure that when you pull up behind another car that you can still see their back tires over your hood.  This keeps you from being blocked in by the car ahead as you always have room to pull around them if you get that tap on the window.

The safety officer showed us a neat picture of the imprint of an upper body on the hood of a car too.

[cayohueso]

Jackmen are all around. Just like bull sharks in the St. Johns, you may not want to think they are there watching...waiting...but there they are. A healthy dose of paranoia isn't a bad thing in Jacksonville anymore. The Wild, Wild Westside (that includes you Ortega and Riverside)...is an open playground for these douches and their crappy HighPoint 9mm can openers.

[Timkin]

Chris is right. Hand prints on the hood of the car from a face-down run-over carjacker is a good thing.

Seems fair to me.. the bastard deserves it if they are trying to rob you/ take your car.

[uptowngirl]

Here are some lessons learned - keep them in mind!

- The Federal government mandated that Jacksonville distribute HUD housing throughout the city, so the violence that used to be confined to the Northside is now widespread. One opinion is that, if Avondale/Riverside residents knew how much crime was happening right under their noses, they would move away.

That is right! Move to the Northside- we are now safe after "sharing the burden", muhahaha!!!!!

[Timkin]

Uh,,,yeah... that would make me move to the Northside.. not. 

This makes me understand (while I personally do not like guns ) why so many people want to have a permit to carry them.  I dont believe in killing people but I sure think its ok to defend one's self and their property.  IF someone approached my vehicle and did this they better shoot..because If they dont , Im going to run their ass over.   This is absurd.

Theres no place safe anymore

[Sportmotor]

If that happens, the best thing to do is to just floor it.

That, and atleast for me at night my gun is right next to my seat belt, unholstered and chambered

[Dog Walker]

Semi-funny carjacking story that happened in 5 Points a few years back. 

Fellow stopped at crosswalk late at night to let thug cross the street.  Thug walked up to passenger window with gun a told driver to get out.  He did and ran away around the corner.  After calling the cops, he peeked around the corner only to see his car still sitting where he left it with the driver's door open.

His car was a stick-shift VW Jetta and evidently the thug didn't know how to drive a stick shift!

[cayohueso]

Ahh yes.. my favorite deterrent in car theft is to have a manual transmission. I would say the vast majority of people under 30 have never even tried to drive a manual. Thanks American auto comsumers once again for validating my opinion that the fewer people who can drive stick...the better it is for me.

[north miami]

This hits real close to home.

Assuming the account is true.If it is,the standard neighborhood news flash system is dragging.

First mistake was to even slightly tolerate the thugs approach let alone just sit there...with Green light even.
And then to open the window,even ever so slightly.
When the thug wormed the gun throgh the window that made for the possibility to grap gun/hand and haul ass.

Isn't hind sight crystal clear??
Most do not really think about or train for such episodes.
How many have practiced shooting while sitting in a vehicle?

Many of us in the immediate neighborhood practice blatant profile discrimination- a call to JSO to report suspicious persons encouraged.(Hey,the worst thing that can happen is someone gets their feelings hurt,unlike the outcome for many of us if we were to enter certain huge swaths of land area in this Consolidated mess)

Speaking of profiling nobody does it better than the thugs.The can be very selective,alert to that certain look of opportunity.
The thugs do not expect the response from their victim: "Stick 'em up Robber,this is a M_F_!"

Worth repeating:If there was no vehicle in front then there should be no opportunity for gathering around a vehicle and striking up conversation and directives.While living in Miami I learned to always leave wiggle exit room infront of the vehicle.Sounds like a crudy way to live,does it not?

The part about dropping pants to avert concealed weapon is interesting.I know lawful packing motorists who would meet that directive with surprising effective force,thanks to considerable planning and training.
Multiple simultaneous thugs complicates things.

Bumper Sticker on tall four wheel drive with Confederate Flag painted on tail gate and NRA Life Menber decal:
                                              HIJACK THIS

A post above suggests if Riverside/Avondale residents knew of the actual level of bad they would move out.
If we lose Avondale/Riverside/Ortega then it is time to bail out- a similar trend witnessed in my native and once idyllic North Miami.I can hear the response....but it this way everywhere....! Yes-and no.
And in fact many have moved out and many have simply never moved in due to impressions real or imagined.Clay & St.Johns growth is due to this dynamic.
During the Ortega spree last year I knew of one family that decided to just conveniently spend more time at the lake house well out of Dodge.
The state has ramped up Concealed Weapons permit facilities in response to area application load.
It is very possible that the thugs do swerve away from many lawful armed citizens.My JSO contacts assure me of this.