jclaxton78
Member
Ahem, a buddy of mine had a few small "autos" outside last summer, as well as some inside. LE did flyovers in late August/Early Sept., looking for outdoor stuff. He knows this for a fact and knows for a fact that the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation was in on it. Needless to say, my buddy was approached by a DEC worker in the front yard, and that worker asked if they could take a 8 leaf samples from some red tree in his backyard. A tree that was very close to some other trees. His dogs were outside, and buddy quickly said "I'll get it for you so the dogs don't go crazy". So he did, and they left. 2 minutes later, buddy goes driving around the neighborhood, looking for that DEC vehicle and it was nowhere to be found. Hmmmm, he thought, this is a red flag that something ain't right. "Why my only my house he thought". So buddy panicked, ripped out everything. A day or 2 later, there was a heli overhead, pretty low, and it definitely wasn't a medical or military type. He laid low for a couple months. Buddy eventually confirmed his suspicion via news articles and TV news. It was who he thought it was.
In November, he resumed his hobby and within a couple weeks, there was loud knocking on his door. From the stained glass front door, he could see 2 men, unmarked vehicle in the driveway. Buddy did not answer the door and the garage door was open (the big one). One of the men then went to the side door so now there were 2 men knocking. Buddy waited several minutes and did not answer the door. He looked out the window as the 2 men finally got into their car, and slooooooowly, I mean slooooowly backed out of the driveway, while one of them kept peering at windows of the house. Buddy again got worried and yanked everything.
He vowed he won't be doing anything outdoors anymore. That same day, he told a family member "how much you want to make a bet there will be some sort of visitor soon, like a water meter reader or the like come by the house". The very next day, there was someone reading a meter outside the house. Coincidence, he thought not.
Tip for others: keep a prominent "no soliciting" sign on your door, that way, unless it's a kid selling cookies, any adult that rings your doorbell/knocks and doesn't leave after a normal amount of time (or immediately), is a sign something isn't right.
Fast forward to March, he decided to start up again, indoors only, hoping things had blown over.
The visit by the 2 men was was a definite "knock & talk" attempt (a successful tool they use). Many law enforcement articles state that this is often used as a last resort when there isn't enough probable cause for a warrant. All occupants of the house know the rule, never open the door. Should he still expect them to come back sometime? Do they ever give up and close an investigation? Weigh in people, please.
In November, he resumed his hobby and within a couple weeks, there was loud knocking on his door. From the stained glass front door, he could see 2 men, unmarked vehicle in the driveway. Buddy did not answer the door and the garage door was open (the big one). One of the men then went to the side door so now there were 2 men knocking. Buddy waited several minutes and did not answer the door. He looked out the window as the 2 men finally got into their car, and slooooooowly, I mean slooooowly backed out of the driveway, while one of them kept peering at windows of the house. Buddy again got worried and yanked everything.
He vowed he won't be doing anything outdoors anymore. That same day, he told a family member "how much you want to make a bet there will be some sort of visitor soon, like a water meter reader or the like come by the house". The very next day, there was someone reading a meter outside the house. Coincidence, he thought not.
Tip for others: keep a prominent "no soliciting" sign on your door, that way, unless it's a kid selling cookies, any adult that rings your doorbell/knocks and doesn't leave after a normal amount of time (or immediately), is a sign something isn't right.
Fast forward to March, he decided to start up again, indoors only, hoping things had blown over.
The visit by the 2 men was was a definite "knock & talk" attempt (a successful tool they use). Many law enforcement articles state that this is often used as a last resort when there isn't enough probable cause for a warrant. All occupants of the house know the rule, never open the door. Should he still expect them to come back sometime? Do they ever give up and close an investigation? Weigh in people, please.
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