The Building Thief...

[djwesp]

Has anyone ever had to deal with an apartment building that had a thief? In the last month:

1. My mailbox has been ripped open and broken into.
2. Laundry left alone, for literally seconds, gets stolen out of the washers/driers.
3. My storage closet door has been ripped off of its hinges and broken into.
4. A UPS box containing a very needed columbia raincoat was stolen today. They just threw the box into the floor after they took everything out of it. According to UPS they dropped it off, literally 5 minutes before I got to the box.
5. People stick black electrical tape on the peep hole and beat on the doors. I definitely don't open them, when they do!? It seems as they are almost "casing" my room to find out when/if I am home.

I can't order anything of value, I can't get to my mail before someone else does, I can't do my laundry, and I can't keep anything valuable in my room.

The St. Paul Police Department insists there is nothing they can do. "Fill out a report" is about as far as I have gotten (and I have each time).

My landlord won't do anything about it and refuses to let me out of my lease early, which has a deposit of $1,500. I would also be forced to cover the costs of finding a new resident.

The other residents in the building are Upper Class College kids that attend two private schools in the area. The building is secured by entrance locks and entrance video cameras. I have no idea who it is, how to catch them, or how to make it stop.

It really isn't about fear, just sheer anger. Petty theft is the most frustrating thing I have experienced in my entire life. Someone has a ton of testicular fortitude to deal with the Federal implications of breaking open a USPS mailbox.

[Donn]

The other residents in the building are Upper Class College kids that attend two private schools in the area.

Are they getting hit, too? If you can round up a half dozen people who are all putting up with this, that ought to constitute a lot of collective motivation. For that matter, maybe some of them know who's doing it.

[djwesp]

The other residents in the building are Upper Class College kids that attend two private schools in the area.

Are they getting hit, too? If you can round up a half dozen people who are all putting up with this, that ought to constitute a lot of collective motivation. For that matter, maybe some of them know who's doing it.

Nope, from what I can tell none of them have been targeted. It seems directed towards me, or those that have gotten other things taken haven't come forward (quite a possiblity with the throw away attitude of these kids).

[The Jackson]

How about you get a UPS box, dress it all up as if it was actually something important shipped to you, but inside you put a dead rat and note saying something to the effect of "Don't screw with me."?

[bort]

I'm assuming this has been carrying on for some time now?

-- How much time is left on your lease? If still a while to come, I say it's time to bail. Not idea, and $1.5k is a lot of money. Find a technicality in the lease and then take your landlord to People's Court.
-- Get a really big dog, and take him everywhere with you. Or a pit bull. People don't mess with a dude with a pit bull.
-- Make friends with your neighbors. Bad neighborhoods/bad buildings are persisted when there is no sense of community. If my neighbor got robbed all the time, I'd sure want to know about it. Make the building a harder target and your thief will move on to something easier.

[MartyNeilan]

I live in a so-so apartment right now. I get anything of importance shipped to my work address. When I was in school, I had a tuba shipped to the school of music and notified them ahead of time about it. Is there any other place you could use for a drop address?

[Dan Schultz]

After reading all the posts and replies... it sounds as though you may have simply 'pissed' a few folks off over something. Maybe you flipped someone the bird or something. Unless many others in the building are being bothered in the same manner... my guess is that there is some sort of personal problem that needs to be resolved. I doubt if anyone really wanted your laundry. They're just messing with you.

[TUBAD83]

You are definitely being targeted by someone in the building. Make copies of your police reports and contact the OWNER of the building (or the building management company). Tell them what has been going on and that this is NOT a safe atmosphere for you. If they refuse to help, you have a strong case for breaking your lease (I had gone through the same thing...a gang had moved into the complex and I moved out FAST). Do not become a hostage in your own home-act now.

JJ

[djwesp]

Bloke, I could not agree more. I definitely miss my home in the woods in the Ozark Mountains. Big city living isn't my cup of tea, and as soon as my school situation ends, I will be out of the city once again.

Dan, as intolerable as I might seem, I have not had a single netative encounter with any residents in the building. The building is quiet, secure, and the people are fairly cordial. If anything I suspect my frequent absence for school, gigs, and being across town in my studio makes me a target more specifically than the other residents. I am sometimes gone for days and regularly only come back to the building to sleep.

A certain poster on the board (with a large land mammal nickname) has given me several ideas. I plan on employing them in the next week or so. In the meantime my mail will be going to my studio and I will be selling my Euph to cover my lost deposit/possible legal fees.

thanks for the conversation. it was insightful, humorous, and I enjoy the perspectives of the posters on the board.

[bort]

Big city living...

Big city?! But you're in St. Paul!

But seriously, hope things work out okay for you.

[djwesp]

A top 20 metropolitan area of 3,500,000 people isn't a big city? sheesh, NYC has gotten to ya.

[bort]

A top 20 metropolitan area of 3,500,000 people isn't a big city? sheesh, NYC has gotten to ya.

My wife is from St. Paul, I've been a bunch of times. Not exactly the "mean streets," but every city has its ups and downs. Certainly not comparing it to NYC. I'm silly, but not stupid.

And of course, just giving you a hard time more than anything. Seriously, good luck to you.

[bort]

The other residents in the building are Upper Class College kids that attend two private schools in the area.

Are they getting hit, too? If you can round up a half dozen people who are all putting up with this, that ought to constitute a lot of collective motivation. For that matter, maybe some of them know who's doing it.

I say these college kids are the ones doing it. I can attest to the fact that private college kids are stuck up pricks. Yea, I attend a private college and have been called a moody (donkey)(opening in the ground). Most think they are the cats' bananas; heck, my suitemates and the people that live across the hall nearly broke down my door and bathroom door at 2 am over my asking them to quiet down (hall quiet hours started four hours previous), they also blocked the peep hole on several occasions, tore just my signs and posters (not my roommates) off of the door and shredded them, they even threatened to kill me and beat me if given another chance. It's just so fantastic being forced to live with people you don't know halfway along in the year...

So I say it's the college kids. You should set up a video camera behind the peep hole, at least you could see who's doing what outside...

good luck dude

Ugh, that's some real crap too! Shoot, and I remember the "puker" on my floor was the big problem. That was annoying, but NMP (not my problem). Violence would get your butt kicked to the curb real quick.

[tubaguy9]

I'm rather frustrated with where I'm living currently too. The college's dorms where I'm at really suck, and if I was here any longer, I'd be moving out. The college wrote stuff in the agreement that they don't enforce, and someone stole quite a bit of stuff for my Wii and campus security didn't do anything about it. I'm tired of my roommate, and they won't do anything about that either.
At least I'm done at the end of May.

[djwesp]

now, now bort. you know I am joshing with you, too.

for what it is worth, NYC isn't scary to me. not the warmest people in the world but definitely nothing too scary. some of the areas are run down and lower class, but nothing more intimidating than elsewhere, just more of it.

Indianapolis, SOUTHSIDE Oklahoma City, and Orange Mound/Memphis are the most absolutely terrifying places I have ever been in the US. The south side locos are probably the most violent and killer glorified gang in the US and reside in OK of all places.

tell the misses I live near the frogtown/midtown/university area of st. paul. not safe at all. I have personally witnessed two shootings in the area since I moved here (a mere seven months ago). one at the cub foods and one at the mcdonalds. both were fatal and happened in broad daylight. can't wait to mooooooove! going to the burbs, then way out of town when the opportunity presents itself.



back to my attempts at reading.

[catkins522]

Indianapolis, SOUTHSIDE Oklahoma City, and Orange Mound/Memphis are the most absolutely terrifying places I have ever been in the US. The south side locos are probably the most violent and killer glorified gang in the US and reside in OK of all places.

I have lived in Indy for 3 years, in 4 apartments, one of while is in the worker's upper lower class. I have not been burglarized, attacked, or was not threaten. In fact, my car was in the shop and had to walk 4-5 miles from my studio apartment to work in wintertime. Don't tell me that Indy sucked. ALL cities, small towns or big cities, has problems with crime period.

Charles Atkins

[MartyNeilan]

Two words:
Camden.

[TUBAD83]

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Too much?

Gotta be more subtle Doc....in TX you can not intentionally set up booby traps--UNLESS you have, say, a rodent problem you were trying to get rid of--then just about anything goes!

JJ

[djwesp]

Well, problem solved tonight.

I'll give the full rundown/details when given the chance.

Elephant gave me some very insightful information that led to catching the crook in the act.

[oldbandnerd]

*Remove the peephole and put in a small camera .... record every second of everyday until you catch the bastard.