This morning I noticed a car drive by my house a couple times. The second time I noticed the passenger side window was down and the driver was pointing a camera at my house taking photos.
This really bugged me so I threw on some clothes, grabbed my M&P and a camera and went out to my car. Now I live in a small circular subdivision with less than 30 homes. By the time I got to my car he was only about half way around and it looked like he was taking photos of other houses. I intercepted his car at the entrance to my neighborhood and started following him while calling the local sheriffs office. They seemed quite unconcerned with the situation but took the information I was giving them anyway.
While following him I was quite obvious about taking photos of his car. I recorded his License number and got a description of him. After following him about 2 miles he pulled into a drive so I went a bit passed him and turned around. When I came back he was backing out of this drive so I blocked him in and took a couple more photos before driving off.
I am not sure if I am just being paranoid but I can’t shake the feeling this guy was up to no good. He was in an old car and wasn’t dressed like a real estate agent or anyone else that should be taking photos of a house. My place is not for sale, I am not behind on my mortgage, and even if I was it would not explain why he was taking photos of other houses in the area.
Should I not have followed the guy? Should I have done something different? I am tempted to work from home the next day or two since I especially worry about my neighbor. Their two 18 year old daughters are home alone during the day right now and I would hate for something to happen to them when I already have a suspicion about this.
Google earth uses a spinning video camera attached to the top of a vehicle, not some guy driving around with his window down snapping still shots
And yes… I think the OP was a bit paranoid IMO. Probably deserved to increase the OP’s awareness, but following then blocking a guy in a driveway, is probably a bit much in this case.
I’d say it was smart until blocking him in. That could too easily have needlessly escalated, when you didn’t know his intentions for certain beforehand. But his actions certainly shady and worth reporting/recording.
Can’t comment as to paranoia. I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV. Arming yourself and following him might be a perceived as somewhat aggressive – but you never know. At least you got some decent photos of the car and license plate, which is now actionable.
You could consider reporting the matter as suspicious activity to the local police. Give them the plate number, etc. so they can follow-up: “Vehicle unknown to the area, taking photographs, and could be casing the area for future criminal activity.”
Yes, blocking in his vehicle could result in a false imprisonment beef – not always likely, but people should be very careful when limiting another person’s movement and freedom, etc.
Could very well be some kind of investigator – worker’s compensation, divorce attorney, etc. Obviously not too good, as he got burned pretty quick. Still, when in doubt – call the cops.
Give the plate to the locals so they can run him through, and ultimately, they can ask him what he was doing. The old car probably isn’t a rental, so that’s a good thing, too.
If it turns out he’s legit, no worries. If he’s on probation or parole for burglary, a sex registrant or whatever – the cops can follow it up, which should help with some peace of mind.
I was giving the police a description on the phone as I followed him. That was the reason for following him in fact, to get a description and to bet his plate number. I armed myself because I never go out unless armed.
As for blocking him in, this probably sounded worse than it was, but the point is still taken. I stopped in front of his car and took a couple photos of him inside the car. My intent wasn’t really to block him in but was instead to get in a position to where I could get a photo of his face. It also put me in a spot where I partial blocked him in the driveway.
If the guy had been dressed nicely or looked like he was there for a reason I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. However his dress and demeanor really put me on edge.
Oh and I contacted my neighbors as soon as I got off the phone with the Sheriffs Dept.
I did not mean to imply that it was a county/municipal assessor. A private appraiser will take neighborhood pictures for a variety of reasons, primarily to establish a comp base for a nearby property.
No matter how they were dressed or what they were driving, I’d still be concerned about someone I don’t know taking pictures of my house and the homes of my neighbors, at least without permission or announcing their purpose.
