Saturday, October 28, 2006

The Scary Dude, the jin & the Police

What a day, what a day, what a day!!! I have TONS of awesome foodporn...but not now.
Now you get to see what happens when you try to fuck with the jin.

This is my: "Don't Fuck with me look."

I had to use that look today. In the photo above you see my shoppe security system. I have it near me at all times, just in case. In 13 years of biz I have only had to go for it ONCE. Today I had to go for it again.

Picture this:
A beautiful fall day, I have 3 elderly volunteers waiting on customers in the 'pastry display area' & my parents are in the front room chatting. I am in the kitchen finishing up a cake order. D isn't in yet; he's at home with the pup. From the kitchen I can see the front door & the hall leading to the front room. The door opens & a man sort of stumbles in. I was at least 20-25' from him but I KNEW RIGHT AWAY he was trouble. I said hello & he ignored me. He slowly walked closer to the kitchen area & ALL my warning signals started to buzz. He was about 6'3", maybe 275 pounds, around 50ish & I knew he was either drunk (not a HUGE threat to deal with) or jacked up on something (potential SERIOUS threat).

We don't usually keep cash around. Most transactions are check or charge. But today was an 'Open House' day, where we average about a hundred customers; half of which (today, anyway!) paid with cash.

All this is running through my head as I'm trying to read the guy. He wasn't just casing the place as he was too obvious. This left 2 alternatives: 1) he was just going to try & rob us or 2) he was on a bad trip. Ugh...either way...my heart was threatening to pound right out of my chest. He edged his way down the hall & into the front room after what seemed like an eternity. I heard my Dad ask him if he needed any help, he replied loudly & defensively, 'I'm just lookin!'. Well, at least I knew my Dad had noticed he wasn't 'right'. He stood there for several minutes staring at a cork trivet we have for sale. I heard my Mom ask if she could help him, he replied loudly & defensively, 'I HAVE MONEY! I could buy it! I'm just lookin!' He stands there for about 8 more minutes, not moving much, just slowly picking up things & looking at them, then putting them down. Customers are coming & going, my volunteers keep asking me for things & no one seems to notice this guy. I'm still really freaked out...I just have this BAD feeling, when all of a sudden he starts to back away, down the hall, to the front door & out he goes! YAY! I go to check & see if anything is missing (I'd rather lose a small item then to confront a guy like that & have something worse happen). It all seems to be there. I breathe a sigh of relief along with my parents who were also wary of approaching him.

I head back into the kitchen to pick up where I left off when one of my volunteers tells me the tape in the credit card machine is almost empty. (The credit card machine is in the hall right between the kitchen & the front room.) I grab a new roll & start to work on the machine when I turn around just in time to see this guy coming back up the front steps to come back in! Before he walks back in the door I was able to warn my parents (jin urgently says, 'OMG he's coming back in!!!'), hopefully without scaring any customers.

I immediately backed away from the credit card machine into the doorway of the kitchen (closer to the bat, just in case) as he walked right towards me. I was very nervous (to say the least) & my hands started to get shaky (a sure sign that yours truly is upset/scared) so I folded my arms across my chest & stood about as tall as I could & put on the face you see in the photo above. I was trying to seem imposing. :-S He came right up to me & looked in the kitchen behind me. I did not smell alcohol on his breath- which made me positive he was fucked up on something other than alcohol- which made me even more nervous because I didn't feel I could predict his actions what-so-ever. FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

Me- 'Are you interested in buying bakery today? That's not in here. It's in a different room.'
He yells- 'YEAH! I KNOW THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
I stood my ground but he tried to PUSH PAST ME INTO THE KITCHEN!
Me- 'YOU CAN'T COME IN HERE!'
(I did not budge...no way was I letting him in there...the kitchen circles around to the pastry room where my elderly volunteers were along with the cash box.)
He- 'BUT I WANNA GO THERE!!!' (While he jabs a finger past my head into the kitchen, pointing.)
Me- 'Well, you CAN'T! We are licensed & customers are NOT ALLOWED IN THAT ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!'

I had never heard such an authoritative & threatening voice come out of my mouth, I don't know exactly where it came from! I looked him straight in the eyes with an icy glare & for one second I really thought he was going to shove me & walk right into the kitchen. All I could hear was my damn heartbeat & the words 'Please Goddess Help Me' echoing in my brain. He stared back at me & saw something that made up his mind.....he jumped back about 2 feet, waved his hands in the air submissively & said 'Alright! Alright! Ok! Never mind. Forget it....'

He walks back into the front room & picks up the trivet again. He is facing the wall & can't see me, but my Mom can. She has the cordless phone. I motion to her to pick up the phone & mouth the words "DIAL 911". She has no fucking clue what I'm saying. FUCK.

I'm still worried he's going to try something. I would have had to squeeze past him to get into the front room for the phone. No WAY! I also had a feeling he was going to try to get back in the kitchen. I decided to go the long way around, grab the phone, go back to the kitchen, slip out onto the porch & call the cops. I DID NOT want him to hear me calling them. I was worried it would set him off. I manage to get the phone, whisper to my Dad to BE CAREFUL (!) & get back into the kitchen.

We are not in a really big city so I decided to call the police station instead of 911. They usually answer immediately & TECHNICALLY...the guy hadn't done anything wrong...YET...

I told the operator who/where I was & that there was man either drunk or stoned that wouldn't leave my shoppe & he was making me VERY nervous. She dispatched a police car immediately before she even took down the details. Then she asked for his description. Just as I was finishing up with her I heard my Mom's canes (she can't really walk & uses 2 canes to push herself around in an office chair) & I thought Oh shit! My Mom's a toughie & I was worried she'd confront the guy without realizing the potential threat. I start to come back in the kitchen & I see the guy walking out the front door. I tell the woman on the phone that he left & is walking down the street. She said not to worry, the officer would still have a talk with him & if the man comes back in again call her IMMEDIATELY.

I hang up & my Mom tells me he was picking up the jewelry we have on display & dropping it on the floor. (UGH! Sorry Jewels! Nothings broken & I 'smudged' it the SECOND he was gone!) She went over by him & he backed into the hall. She asked again if she could help him & he said he was just 'watching'. Did I mention my Mom's a toughie?!!? I guess she told him that he HAD to leave, he couldn't just stand there. LMAO! I guess that's where I get it from! That's when he turned around & walked out.

It was not even FIVE MINUTES from the time I hung up the phone to the time the police car pulled up. Then another one slowly drove by. I had to give the cop the description & explain what happened. He told me I did the right thing by acting authoritative & 'drawing the line' so he couldn't come in the kitchen.

The cop (he was really nice...some aren't you know! :-S) told me I could have dialed 911. I said I didn't because technically he didn't DO anything. The cop said, 'If it ever happens again, you DIAL 911!' Then he continues to really grill me on the guys appearance. I knew his, face, hair, cap, height, weight & approx. age...but for the life of me I couldn't tell him what he was wearing, no idea even on colours. I suppose that's because I was keeping constant eye contact. The cop finishes with, "I had to double check your description. There was an INCIDENT earlier & you just described the same guy. If he comes back you call 911 RIGHT AWAY! Got it?"

FUCK!??! He never said what the INCIDENT involved. I don't think I want to know.

My Dad ran an errand about 30 minutes later. He saw 2 cop cars a few blocks down from the shoppe. They had got the guy.


33 Responses to “The Scary Dude, the jin & the Police”

Anonymous said...

Creepy!

Please watch the news, it might be interesting if the papers pick something up on the guy.

Maybe the wonderful smells from the kitchen were pulling him in like a Seirene!

Unknown said...

OMG Jin! Fuck the jewellery, I'm more worried about YOU!
See, I want my own shoppe, but it's stuff like this that scares me. Oh, and I'm a toughie too, but lets face it, there's some pretty scary dumbasses out there. Yay for the bat (I prefer the wooden ones as well, as they pack a bigger wallop, more weight behind them... Yeah, I did my homework...)

Oh, I'm relieved you're alright. That EVERYONE is alright.

jin said...

LOL! Yeah.....smells from the kitchen....the dude was looking for a meth lab NOT a chocolate mint brownie!!!!

This is part of the reason I do not mind being in an residential type neighborhood. If I were on one of the main streets I'd have to deal with this type of traffic regularly. No thanx!

jin said...

Hey jewels, you snuck your comment in there!

Yeah...everyone's ok. I just KNEW something was wrong tho...YOU KNOW what I mean...that feeling!

The cops have been driving past all afternoon/evening. They're cool like that. They wouldn't have to.

*jin contemplates telling jewels about the gunshot that went thru my front window a couple years ago but decides not to.*

Hey, & I'm in a GREAT neighborhood!

Dan said...

Sounds like the guy may have been using your shop as a temporary hiding place; maybe the cops were looking for him for that other incident. This may explain his leaving and then coming back (spotting a cop car perhaps) and may also explain his eagerness to go into the kitchen (maybe even trying to find a backdoor out).

Sounds like you and your folks handled it well.

jin said...

Shit dan!
You know, as I'm retyping the story tonight I kept trying to figure out what he was staring at in the kitchen...

Ba-Dum-dum-TA!

A backdoor that leads right into the backyard.
Why the hell didn't I think of that?!!?
Ummm...wait a minute here....HOW do you know this type of thing?
I hope it's because you watch lots of TV...not because you are a well practiced CRIMINAL!!!!

OMG!!!
Dan knows my location!!!
RUN!
Run for your lives everyone!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gyrobo said...

Although I designed this avatar to simulate sarcasm, it works well for shocked disbelief!

That guy was totally weird! Weirder than... a basketball with an eyepatch!

jin said...

LOL! Shocked disbelief it is!!!

Actually, his head kinda looked like a basketball with an eyepatch, only smaller than a basketball minus the eyepatch.

Anonymous said...

OMG thats so scary. I know the feeling you mean. I am glad you are okay. I take the au pairs to the police station every year and one of the things they cops tell the girls is to call 911 if they THINK something is wrong. They say they'd rather respond to find nothign is up then find a crime scene.

MeHereNow said...

Ugh did any cakes/pastries get hurt? No? Oh thank god!!

You did good girl!

I hate people that make me feel "edgy" I'd rather face on aggression than not knowing which way its going to go.

Where was the hunky British guy anyway? Let down the side man! Just as well jin was in control.

How proud of you are we your adoring bloggers?!?!

Keep safe xx

Middle Child said...

When my little 5' nothing 19year old daughter worked in an exotic live fish shoppe... she along with every other shop in the small shopping centre was held up...she only had about $50 which they took...hard enough for older people to deal with these guys and with the poor bloody messed up fruits who wander about...but 19 year olds are really at risk...loved your baseball bat Jin...we live a bit out f town and my husband is in a wheelchair so I sport a mean hockey stick and a big red kelpie doggie I love to death.

Pastries okay...gove em away but not your poore olde world mum and dad!

I will think twice before i try to rob a pastry shop.
My guess the guy was prob. a frustrated diabetic.

Dan said...

Jin, I know all of this because ... hello? ... I was the creepy guy in your store yesterday. And I was very irritated that you didn't have any free vegan dessert samples!! ;)

flatlander said...

Jeepers! Sorry to hear about your close encounter of the weird kind. I'm glad nothing untowards ended up happening.

Hey, thanks for using my poem in your last post! I've always wanted to collaborate with Gyrobo and his seizmic verse, and now my dream has come true on the pages of Jintrinsique!!

jin said...

ALL:
First off I am having a HELL of a time trying to log in, post, comment & answer comments!!!
ARGGGHHHH!!!
So, if I don't get to everyone & if I can't post again....
BLAME BLOGGER!!!
:-P

jin said...

katy: I know...I just always HATED the 'boy who cried wolf' story...I did sense someting was wrong, but try to tell a non-believer that! Oh, well, they got him anyway!

meherenow: LOL..."the hunky British guy" was at home with my puppy. He usually isn't here on 'Open House' days. Anyway...I don't know how much help he would have been...on one occasion I told him there was someone in our yard looking in our window, his reply? "Well, go check it out then!' :-P
LOL...tis ok, I can take care of myself.
Thanks for being proud! :-D

jin said...

middle child: OOooo...COOL, a hockey stick! That ought to show them! I am never without a dog, either, they are wonderful protective creatures!

So, if you don't mind my asking, did the flouride contribute to your husband being in a wheelchair? I've been doing a LOT of research & I think that may be part of my Mum's problem.

l>t: "I will think twice before i try to rob a pastry shop."
That's only mine!!! I can't vouch for any of the others! ;-)

"My guess the guy was prob. a frustrated diabetic."
LMAO!!!!!! That's what happens when a person doesn't eat enough chocolate, they turn GOOFY!!! ;-)

jin said...

dan: LOL! I think you'd have to eat a whole LOT of dodgey food, for many years, to look like THAT guy! :-S

For years my Mum has made this awesome quickbread that's totally organic & vegan...do you think we can sell it?!!? If you tell people it's healthy, they won't even taste it! :-P Too many people associate 'healthy' with 'yucky'. How do we change that?!!?

flatlander: That's what I'm here for:
'To make sweet dreams come true."
;-)

Anonymous said...

CREEPY!!!

I think it's amazing how calm you stayed, at least on the outside. It must have been that State of Mind thing, hmmm?

I'm glad you and the others are safe, and that this freak was caught. Did you smudge the whole shopped after he was gone?

Anonymous said...

Yikes, that's scary. That's a great look in that picture though, I wouldn't want to mess with you Jin! ;-)

jin said...

lesley: Honest? I didn't want any of my customers or volunteers to freak out! It would have been MUCH harder to deal with them!!! LOL!

Do you remember that old Great White song?
"Once bitten, twice smudged"
Heeheeeee!
:-)

cc: Just after it was all over & done with I went to sit in the front room for a few minutes.
My Mom said, "What are you thinking? Are you ok?"
I said, "Yeah...I'm fine. Actually, all I can think about right now is: this'll make an AWESOME blogpost!!!"

I bet you see everything as a photograph...now I see evrything as a blogpost!
LOL
:-)

Jin, you take one step closer and I swear I will prepare this boxed cake mix!!!

Oh, that's right, you're not the attacker in this story.

So what was the earlier "incident"?

CP

Anonymous said...

A bit of advice:

For more power (albeit with less control), keep your hands together down toward the bottom of the bat handle.

Anonymous said...

I've read this story a couple of times now. All I can say is 'good grip on the bat!'

I think you handled it marvelously well considering the strangeness of the situation.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and Ace, she's smashing heads not home runs. Short grip on the bat is good for a controlled swing indoors.

No that I used to break kneecaps for the Mafia. I didn't. No really. You heard nothing, see!

Anonymous said...

And you got short with me when I said you looked stern. Looked like it helped out, eh?

jin said...

cp: LMAO!!! That'd make me back off in a hurry!!!

I never did find out what he did earlier. I'm not going to go scouring the papers for it, either. If someone else hears/reads something I'll let you know.

ace: If I ever need more power (hopefully NOT! :-S) I'll remember that.

rich: Lol...thank you! :-)

Did you say Mafia???
*jin hands rich lots of free bakery & a WHOLE Black Forest Cake*

andy: ROTFLMAO!!!!
Excellent come-back sir andy.

Anonymous said...


If it was me that saw the guy walk in...I woulda baseball batted him in the nuts. Even if he didn't do anything...he's still trouble...he probably had those shifty eyes. Shifty eyes = trouble!

Oh & hot pic!

jin said...

Welcome hippo!
Well, I wish you would have been here then!
He did indeed have shifty eyes.

Thanx for the compliment, too! :-D *blush*

I get followed by store detectives all the time. It's probably the mask...

jin said...

LMAO phos!!!

Glad you're back!!!
:-D

Anonymous said...

OMG!!! just reading the post was scary!

ur mom's a toughie and u r too. some credit goes to genetics, i guess?

i'm gonna practice my tough look too. *stands before the mirror with a comb in the hand*
"GRRrrrrrr..."

jin said...

LOL mizfit!!!
*jin pictures mizfit with a comb making faces*

Want to know a secret?

My Mom's a Virgo too!!!!!
LOL! Seriously!
THAT'S why she's a toughie!!! LOL!
:-D