A Sleeping Stranger in Your House

[trooper3385]

This is actually not that uncommen of an incident. I've backed up the city police several times where something like this happened. It's usually somebody that got drunk and went to the wrong house, went to there old house, or passed out in the middle of a burglary. If this happened to me, I would first arm my self, grab the cell phone and get out of the house and wait for the police to get there. Why put yourself in a position where you may have to shoot someone if they wake up violently.

[TexasSIGMan]

So what's with all these people leaving doors unlocked for this to happen in the first place?

[NotAMonte86]

So what's with all these people leaving doors unlocked for this to happen in the first place?

How did it take 27 posts for someone to finally ask the most important question?!

[The Canuck]

Before I read the rest of the posts I'll add my two cents.

1). Quietly strap on the .45 and two extra mags of headache makers.

2). Make a call to the Police services to enlighten them to my surprise visitor.

3). Make some coffee (The cops around here will not be in a huge rush for a guy passed out on your floor, they are busy with gang shootings and Domestics)

IF: Sleeping beauty wakes up before police arrive and acts civilly, I offer him a coffee.

THEN: He has a cuppa joe and heads out under his own steam

IF: Sleeping beauty gets wierd, I deal with him accordingly.

THEN: The local constabulary come in and do their thing.

IF: The police show up first, I offer them all a cup of coffee.

THEN: He heads out the door with his new friends in blue.

THEN: I have a story to get me free beer for a week!

END:

[tony pasley]

Now you know why I live way out in the country. Now you know why I have an alarm system and road alert. In my miss spent youth I never got that drunk might have woken up with a strange woman but never a strange house.

[jfrey123]

I agree with most here. Grabbing your HD weapon and calling the cops from a secure position would be my choice as well...

If this intruder ended up waking up before they got there, it would be better if they made no sudden movements. . . .

[Doug.38PR]

This has got to be the craziest story I have ever heard on TFL

[chris in va]

Thanks for reminding me why I don't drink

+1 on that.

[Smokin Joe]

why dont some people secure their home better ?

[chadwimc]

The proper Kentucky response to a flatfoot's question of "Got any ID?" is
" 'Bout what ???"

[685cmj]

A really good reminder though that that "intruder" in the house unexpectedly could be a child who came home without notice, a neighbor who imbibed more than he should have, the dumb boyfriend of the daughter, an elderly person with alzheimers, a disconsolate friend looking for comfort....We have to be sure that we don't shoot first and ask questions later just because we have a gun. It is something that scares me about myself--I know how easy it is to start seeing every problem as a nail if I have a hammer.

[BillCA]

Just so's Spiffy doesn't feel too bad.

In my youth, had dinner with friends just after New Year's ('78). We are in a cutthroat Scrabble game when my friend dons uniform and departs for work at 22:30. Around 00:30 wine takes over. Friend's wife takes my car keys and pours me into a bed. Other friends leave around 0200. Power goes out around 0300 and house is freezing by 0345. Your's truly is sawing lumber and DOA to the world.

Time: 0745
I wake up to the sound of a S&W revolver being cocked! I find that I'm pinned down on my left side and a large USAF Sergeant is looking down at me, holding a cocked Model 28 (trying to look serious and not break up laughing at the same time). I'm pinned down by his wife who decided to cuddle up to me in the cold of the night.

Dinner with Friends - Free
Wine for dinner - $40
Drinking too much wine - Free
Waking up with her in your bed & her husband holding a cocked gun - Priceless!


(Yes, he has a sense of humor or I wouldn't be here!
And she was wearing heavy flannel P.J.'s.... with feet! )

[scsov509]

I'm with trooper3385, this actually happens somewhat frequently.

About 4 years or so ago we responded to a home invasion burglary call in progress. Wife was calling in and she was just absolutely frantic. We roll up to see one guy laying on the ground pretty beaten up and another guy standing over him in sweats and no shirt. Turns out some guy had stumbled home drunk to the wrong home and couldn't get his key to work (imagine that) so he'd tried to break down the door to get into "his house".

The homeowner was roused from his slumber to the sound of this guy trying to force entry, and proceeded to confront him at the entry. He told him he was at the wrong house and he needed to leave. The drunk got belligerent with the homeowner and tried to force his way into the home, so the homeowner took what he deemed were necessary steps to protect his home from said forced entry.

In the end I almost felt kind of bad for the guy, because the homeowner totally put the boots to him on top of which he got arrested.

[Billy Sparks]

I actually ran a shooting one New Years Eve that was the other way around. Now it has probably been 20+ years ago but as I remember this guy comes home a little after midnight and sees someone in his backyard so he shoots him. Only problem was that it wasn't his house. The "homeowner" had pulled into a house he had owned 4 years ago. The whole time we were working on the real homeowner (who was just letting his dog out) the guys wife was telling him "I told you this wasn't our house, I know I should have driven even though I am more drunk than you."

[Musketeer]

Get a dust pan, garbage can and mop to clean up whatever was left over from when my dog finished with him.

Assuming no dog...

Get 1911 & Cover sleeping criminal
Wife secures children in their rooms at the top of the stairs without waking them (Has Remington 870 to cover stairwell and cell phone)
Call 911, inform of situation and that homeowners are armed.
Wait with 911 on line.
Let the police wake the person up (why should I bother dealing with him?)

I would advise against any arm cahir LEO escapades such as handcuffing or zip tying. Let them sleep and cover them. While on with 911 I would not say

"I have a drunk/druggie sleeping in my living room."

I would say "I have a home invader that I am holding at gunpoint while my wife is gaurding our children's bedrooms."

The second statement is 100% factually coorect but likely to draw a much more urgent response than the first.

[Trip20]

Change the title to "A Sleeping Neighbor in Your House."

[EJJR]

"So what's with all these people leaving doors unlocked for this to happen in the first place?"

IMO, in most cases, I would say its from having a false sense of security; Not to bash, but IME, it's much more common in low crime/ rural areas. While the odds may be in one's favor that nothing will happen in those cases; why take the risk?

For me, the greatest lesson I have learned, over the past decade or so is that
potentially deadly and unexpected situations can happen to me; regardless of location/environment.

I still am very surprised that more people are not being proactive in regards to securing their property and being more aware of their surroundings in general.

P.S. I think its safe to say the majority of us have had our own experiences in regards to excessive drinking.

Spiffy shouldnt feel bad at all; no harm, no foul. Just a great story to tell.

[mfree]

Yeah. Honestly, if the guy/girl is asleep then they probably weren't up to much.

1. Beat myself senseless, mentally, for leaving my house unsecured.
2. Grab the 66, ensure it's still loaded for bear. Literally.
3. Quietly look to see that said person hasn't aspirated, is still breathing, etc.
4. Quietly retreat to as far a visible spot as can be, call police, explain about sleeping beauty, and wait.
5. If sleeping beauty awakens, gingerly explain that this ain't your house, buddy, do you want some coffee while we wait for your ride?
6. If sleeping beauty turns truly ugly, well, there's some cleanup to do after I give my statement. Even one doubletap 158gr gold dot at 1400fps is likely to... uh, spray.

[Garand Illusion]

In the little town I grew up in my Dad was somewhat known from his job and participation in the church.

One night we all woke up about 2:00 a.m. or so to the sound of the window on the front door being smashed in. Dad ran out, found a hand groping through the little window.

Being the kind of guy he is, he yanked the door open to find a very bloody guy standing there.

Fortunately Dad recognized him (as he would have about anyone from the town). He was an alcoholic and smashed to the gills. Dad helped him inside and to sit down on a chair and gave him a towel to wipe at the blood.

He did call the police, who arrived with an ambulance to take him away (I don't think charges were ever filed, don't know).

The story was he had arrived home drunk, and his wife had beat the crap out of him with a club of some kind. So he staggered away, beat up and drunk, and went to someone's house he thought could help.

If the above happened to me, I'd do like everyone else said. Prepare for the worst, but call the police and assume the best.

As to why doors get left unlocked ... sometimes people just screw up. Or they have a houseful of teenage kids who are constantly going in and out. It just happens.

My doors are always locked, but occasionally one gets missed. One time I found out my basement door had been left unlocked for almost two weeks.

If you can't afford a monitored alarm and don't have a dog (the best kind of alarm in the world) I would suggest:

wireless alarm system

At least it will wake you up -- if you remember to turn it on.

[kirkcdl]

Years ago,when I was in my 20's my buddies lived in a 2nd story apartment/townhouse,1 in a row of identical townhouses.We were all really drunk at 3AM,and his key didn't work.Well,his G/F had on more than one occasion changed the locks when she got mad enough,so we all figured this was the case AGAIN.We boosted the smallest guy up to the 2nd floor balcony and he opened the door.When we hit the lights,there was a playpen in the middle of "his" living room.No kids in this group at that time,so we all left,laughing loudly.(Yes,we shut off the lights and yelled "sorry!".Later in life,when I started to develop my gun addiction,I realized the potential that night.I can imagine some young family in their bedroom listening to us in their living room...

[mtnbkr]

So it's 6 am, you wake up, and find sound asleep on your kitchen floor an extremely large wierd looking dude...

I'd tell Mike Irwin to get out of my house before my daughter wakes up and starts to use him as a trampoline.

Chris

[OBIWAN]

When I read the title, my first thought was

Tell Spiff to go home

[stephen426]

Spaceman Spiff and BillCa,

Those are some great stories!

I'm glad your neighbor recognized you instead of blasting you first. I might have let you sleep it off and not iinvolved the cops if I recognized you since you might get charged with public intoxication or something.

Bill,

That is hilarious. If I found you in bed with my wife, you might be looking down the barrel of a gun too! If I was your friend's wife, you would have been on the couch or on the floor where you conked out. You sure as heck better not be in my bed!

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Pour Mazola oil all around him, very quitely. Thus when he gets up in a psychotic rage, he will slip and fall repeatedly.

Before that, I would call the cops, make sure all family members are gathered in a fall back location. Have a reasonable gun ready, OC, flashlight etc.

However, my wife would probably have killed him already for making the floor dirty.

[Samurai]

HAAA!!!!! This sort of thread makes for some GREAT stories!

And here's one more:

Similar thing happened to me while I was in undergrad at UT. My roommates were all music majors, which means they were a rather roudy lot. One morning I wake up, headed for my early morning engineering class, backpack in hand, and come out to the living room to find a VEEERRRRYYYY scuzzy-looking early 20's heavy-set white female lying on my couch asleep! Assuming the worst (one of my roommates must be DATING this chick, and so now I'll have to put up with her every morning for the rest of the semester!), I go to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. She wakes up and immediately starts explaining how she's been homeless for a few weeks, and starts asking me if I have any pot/acid/coke so she can "shake this off."

At this point, my "freak-out-O-meter" goes RIGHT off the chart. (No guns allowed in college dorms, and besides, this is before I developed the habit.) I proceed to serve up coffee, smile politely, and wait for my drunk-and-lazy roommate to wake up. (Forget about going to class! I'm not leaving this chick alone with my stereo and computer!) My roommate finally wakes up, and he explains to me that he met this girl at a coffee house last night, and that she "seemed like a cool person." He apparently told her, after several beers, that she could crash at our dorm for the night and use the shower the next morning. (Good thing she remembered the offer, because she REAKED!)

I informed my roommate that he was to "get her out of here before I come back," and I went to class. When I return, she's gone, and my roommate is "Wowing" me with stories of what a "weirdo" she was, and how when he finally had a sober conversation with her, she "like, totally freaked [him] out."

Suffice to say, for the next 2 years, the incident was not repeated.