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POSSIBLE WITNESS TO TERRORIST ACTIVITY?
10/26/04 | LibertyLass

Posted on 10/26/2004 5:38:03 PM PDT by libertylass

I HAD MY OWN LITTLE EXPERIENCE LAST SATURDAY THAT PROMPTED ME TO CONTACT THE LOCAL POLICE, AND WHEN THAT DIDN'T SATISFY ME, THE HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICE IN SACRAMENTO, CA. THEY IN TURN SENT ME BACK TO MY LOCAL FBI OFFICE, WHO CONSIDERS MY "EVENT" WORTH LOOKING INTO:

I was walking my dog at about 10:30 am when a man pulled up to the curb in front of my condominium units. We have 23 units that are place in a horseshoe shape with the "opening" of the horseshoe facing the street. The "opening" contains the building for our clubhouse and sauna room so you can't actually see into our common area from the street.

Anyway, I didn't pay any attention to him until about a 1/2 hour later when I left with my dog to take her to the vet. As I walked to my truck (on the street) this middle-Eastern looking guy was standing in the middle of the street taking pictures of our condos. Our condos are directly across from a school and less than 1/2 a block from an elementary school where voting takes place for our immediate area.

At first I wasn't going to say anything, thinking he works for a real estate company, but because there are no "For Sale" signs, or "For Rent" signs on our front lawn, I found it odd. I recently refinanced my condo and they never took pictures of the front of the condo units, but only of my interior and immediate outside walls.

So.....as I walked towards him I asked "do you mind me asking you what you're doing?" He replied "I don't know that it's any of your business" at which time I replied "well, I live here and you're taking pictures of my condos, and people are watching out for this kind of thing." (I was getting perturbed at his uncooperative and disrespectful attitude.) I figure if he was a legitimate real estate agent, or an appraiser, he would have offered an explanation or a business card.

He stated "this is a public place" and proceeded to go get in his car. Me, always being a bit bolder than I should be, got a bit mouthy and said "Oh, so now you're going to leave when someone questions what you're doing?" He replied "yeah."

As he got into car I read his license plate number out loud, got into my truck, wrote it down along with the type of automobile (Dodge Intrepid) and drove to my moms to contact the police.

It turns out that they didn't consider him committing any crime (which I knew), so I contacted the dept. of homeland security. They referred me to my local FBI office in L.A. where my story was welcomed, and that I would be getting a follow up call from an agent at some point.

After talking to a co-worker she reminded me that one school is directly across the street from our units and the other one is around the corner just a few houses down.

Perhaps I was overreacting, but taking pictures of PRIVATELY owned homes without offering an explanation from a resident makes me suspicious. He spoke good English, but has a middle Eastern accent.

I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night with an orange jumpsuit on and my hands tied behind my back. Shiver........

I believe he also wrote down my license plate number, but can't be sure.

Was I over-reacting you think?


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: California
KEYWORDS: homelandsecurity; staysafe; terrorism
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To: libertylass
"Was I over-reacting you think?"

No. You might have saved some lives, we may never know.

161 posted on 10/26/2004 9:59:52 PM PDT by paulsy
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To: libertylass; snopercod
I found an e-mail that I sent out; the event occurred Monday, October 11, 2004. I think that I signed into the building where I was going, at around 7:05 - 7:10 P.M. EDT.

I did not write down the license no. of the motorcycle, but I can get it from the police report IF THERE ACTUALLY IS A POLICE REPORT.

162 posted on 10/26/2004 9:59:53 PM PDT by First_Salute (May God save our democratic-republican government, from a government by judiciary.)
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To: libertylass; Old Sarge; Coleus

I had a recent experience like this.

I was at the park with my children. A 'family' showed up. The man looked Egyptian, the woman, blonde, tall, didn't speak fluent English, I didn't recognize the accent, guessing, German? Russian? Wasn't a latin root.

The son, toddler, looked like theirs.

The man went behind the pond at the park to take pictures of the view from the river of New Brunswick, NJ

The toddler was fascinated with me and my children. I don't think he ever saw a fishing pole. I baited up a hook and handed him a pole. That boys eyes were shining.

I looked at the woman, now that I set them up ::smiles:: and said, doesn't your husband want pictures of this? You came to the park with your son and a camera....

She called him back, to take pictures. He was blatantly frustrated :)


163 posted on 10/26/2004 11:00:57 PM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: libertylass; KylaStarr; Cindy; StillProud2BeFree; nw_arizona_granny; Revel; Velveeta

Oh Velveeta...sound familiar?


164 posted on 10/26/2004 11:02:54 PM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: libertylass
You did the right thing. We have had an occasional "caser" in our neighborhood, though not a ME type. I make it a point to approach them and if they leave, I follow them (I bring my 2 dogs with me if they wanna crack wise). I do as you did, get their license and report them. You did great!

We're at war, and our homeland is one of the battlegrounds. Nobody is gonna pull any s**t in my 'hood if I can help it.
165 posted on 10/26/2004 11:04:52 PM PDT by over3Owithabrain
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To: Quix

bumping Quix!!!!!!


166 posted on 10/26/2004 11:05:57 PM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: libertylass

I would have made like I was walking away and attacked him from behind, kicking the crap out of him.

I really need to work on my conflict resolution skills.

In any case, I wouldn't worry about it. Report what you saw if it bugs you, and move on.


167 posted on 10/26/2004 11:08:29 PM PDT by HitmanLV (I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.)
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To: Drummer

You did the right thing.


168 posted on 10/26/2004 11:10:13 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: libertylass

You did not over react.


169 posted on 10/26/2004 11:10:13 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (What did Kerry know and when did he know it?)
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To: wimpycat

You did the right thing.
Good.


170 posted on 10/26/2004 11:13:05 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: HitmanNY

>>>I really need to work on my conflict resolution skills.


http://www.newyorkcitycommunity.com/peacenik.htm

Just being a wiza gurl :)


171 posted on 10/26/2004 11:16:46 PM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: Calpernia

Haha! That's funny! I guess I won't work on my conflict resolution skills after all! ;-)


172 posted on 10/26/2004 11:33:53 PM PDT by HitmanLV (I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.)
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To: HitmanNY

:)


173 posted on 10/26/2004 11:36:42 PM PDT by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: libertylass

Great job! This is exactly the kind of vigilance the police need. Sometimes, when the perp realizes the public is paying attention .. they move on to find another target.

Being aware of your surroundings is great!! You did exactly the right thing.


174 posted on 10/27/2004 1:48:37 AM PDT by CyberAnt (Election 2004: This election is for the SOUL OF AMERICA)
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To: First_Salute
I give a C.R.A.P., but it sounds like you are pretty much on your own as to following up on this.

Have you noticed that "the authorities" never have the manpower to track down things like this, but always have plenty of people to fill out reports after something bad happens?

175 posted on 10/27/2004 3:37:42 AM PDT by snopercod (Inflation, it's how wars are paid for.)
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To: libertylass
I thought about this last night...and without reading to see if others suggested this, I'd say that if it was me, I'd go one step further...maybe two steps further. First, I'd take a description of the vehicle and the man and the incident to the local principal. Request a brief meeting and lay it out, reminding this person of what happened in Russia and mention the polling place aspect. If this is a wise principal, he/she will notify the staff to be on the lookout. Better safe than sorry. That is too close for comfort.

I'd also talk to the condo management, again describing what you saw and the FBI's reaction...and if there's a newsletter or flyer they put out or if they ask YOU to make up a flyer to put on all the doors, then the condo residents can also become more alert to potential threats.

It's one thing to be told in the abstract "be alert"...but to be told specifically that you may have been targeted might actually cause people to pay attention and avert tragedy. Chances are, since you spooked the man, he may give up on your location...or he may just be an obnoxious man who should have told you his legitimate business. Either way, the people who are vulnerable to attack, should he have been up to no good, will be warned. That's all you can do, right?

176 posted on 10/27/2004 5:08:53 AM PDT by minmospop (I voted for the party of the Librarian's candidate!)
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To: Calpernia

Sure does.


177 posted on 10/27/2004 6:09:39 AM PDT by Velveeta
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To: al baby

I thought more along the lines of 7-11 but what do I know??


178 posted on 10/27/2004 6:12:38 AM PDT by Hand em their arse
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To: libertylass

Dodge Intrepids are used by a lot of car rental companies...supports the idea that the guy may not have been local either.


179 posted on 10/27/2004 6:19:06 AM PDT by dg62
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To: jarjarbinks123

C'Mon - can't you all see he needs it for All Saints Day (Nov 1) /sarcasm


180 posted on 10/27/2004 6:54:45 AM PDT by George from New England
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