Home Invasion That Just Happened To Us

[Mr Lee]

OK I feel I owe everyone an explanation since I posted what I did in the 13a section.  To start off with, we live in a nice gated community in Florida, so no place is totally safe. My wife and I were awake but barely this morning and myself because of some meds I have to take at night for my bad back. My wife and I were startled by someone pounding on our front door like a mad man and it turns out that was exactly what the guy was. When he could not get the front door open as I retrieved my gun from my nightstand, he went to our back screen enclosed patio and broke his way in and then started pounding on the sliding doors so hard that I was sure they would shatter. I opened the blinds of our dinette sliding doors to find no one there but now the pounding started on our bedroom sliding doors and again so hard the glass was going to shatter if I did not stop him. I then opened the dinette sliding door and yelled some not so nice words at him while watching his hands and observing his body to see if he was armed and all he had in his hands were keys which can be used as a weapon and he was holding them in a threatening manner but I felt that I am good enough with my hands to deal with them without having to shoot and maybe kill him. He then proceeded to attack my wife and myself and while I blocked his keys and put him into a head lock and tried to slam him to the ground, he proceeded to toss my wife around like a toy on his arm and luckily she was not injured except some scrapes and bruises . This guy was insanely strong and was larger than me and I am almost 6 foot tall and was 6 foot before shrinking as I got older.  I wrestled with him for about 5 minutes while telling my wife to let loose and call the police but she was screaming at the top of her lungs for help and as I finally slammed the guy to the floor but now inside our dinette and  a short time later my neighbor came over to help. My neighbor is a coach and is 6 foot 5 inches and pretty strong and at this point the two of us were having a hard time holding this nut case down while my wife called the police. I told my wife to go get me some handcuffs from my draw and she did and my neighbor and I tried to get his arms behind his back. I managed to get the one I had control of behind his back and cuffed but the two of us could not get his right arm behind his back and which my neighbor was trying to kneel down on and which must be his stronger arm and was the one with the keys in his hand and we were doing our best to avoid getting cut from them. The police arrived in mass numbers, I think there must have been at least ten of them in total by the time the last one arrived and one big strong officer was now able to get his other arm behind his back as my neighbor and I controlled this guys body. Well it turns out to be a good thing I did not shoot him even when I had every right to because Florida has a castle law which says a mans home or vehicle is their castle and they have a right to use deadly force to protect themselves while in it and also to use deadly force whenever a person feels their life is in danger, but with the use of deadly force comes personal conflicts that anyone who has had to do it full well knows about and I sure did not wish to kill anyone if I did not have to but had we not been able to control him and he got up then he I would have not had any choice. The day may come that this guy will have to meet his maker but today was not the day because we luckily kept him face down on the floor.  Anyway, it turns out that this guy is a nut case and off his medicines and and lives down the block and maybe thought our home was his home since he lives in a similar home.  The police took him away and said they will send him for mental evaluation and I am just happy I was home and that my wife was not alone.The point to my post is that no place is totally safe and people should decide what weapon would be best to deal with an issue and have them around for the just in case. I should have had a bat in one hand and my gun in my back pocket with my hand on it, which is where it was as soon as I found out the guy did not appear to be armed and I should have then switched to the bat if only I had one. Life takes funny turns and now might be a good time for my wife and I to buy a heavy baseball bat because an electric stun gun would have done no good with a nut case such as this guy, I know I used one on a person such as him once before and it did no good at all.  I posted this in off topic because it did not happen in the Philippines, but could have just as easy of happened anywhere since there are nuts everywhere. So people be prepared because things can happen and now you know someone that it did happen to, and last, all that ends well is a good day. BTW, this guy weighed in at what I estimate to be at least 250 pounds. 

[Jake]

I am very relieved that you and Nila are OK. It sounds like he was still on medication, like meth.I think at the heat of the moment if it happen to us, at least the perpetrator would be out of the gene pool. Judy has a Glock compact and would not hesitate to double tap his groin area.Again, well done on your part for controlling your trigger finger. It would have been a messybio-hazard area for you to clean up afterwards.Respectfully -- Jake

[Mr Lee]

I am very relieved that you and Nila are OK.  It sounds like he was still on medication, like meth.I think at the heat of the moment if it happen to us, at least the perpetrator would be out of the gene pool.  Judy has a Glock compact and would not hesitate to double tap his groin area.Again, well done on your part for controlling your trigger finger.  It would have been a messybio-hazard area for you to clean up afterwards.Respectfully -- Jake

Many things went through my mind during situations such as this. Nila and I had just put in an offer on a short sale condo and were then going to sell this house if we get the condo. It is amazing how many things go through a persons mind when dealing with a situation where adrenaline is pumping hard. The weird thought I was having was that I kept thinking about not being able to sell our house if I had to kill this guy in our home and that was probably what saved this guys life once he got into our home, along with my neighbor showing up to help me restrain him. I knew that some people will not buy a house where someone was killed or even died of natural causes. I kept thinking of other ways to deal with him until the police arrived and my mind was going a 1000 minute per second trying to find ways to not kill this guy. In the end it was good my neighbor came over to help because I would have had no choice but to kill him since he was now in our home and I could not take a chance he would hurt Nila. Today just was his lucky day that we are trying to buy a condo and that my neighbor came to help me hold him down because I was already spent from wrestling with him for so long because other things that would have taken a normal man down would not work on him. I guess he was hyped up on some sort of drugs because he had way above human strength, was sweating and stunk and nothing worked to stop him, but I will bet money that he will be hurting pretty bad tomorrow, as I am sure I will be as well because this went on for what seemed like hours but was probably at least 15 minutes and I am an old fart not used to this type of bs. I think I lasted longer than I thought I would. All is good when everyone goes home alive or in his case to a mental institution but still alive.

[Inspector]

I sent him there to retrieve my case verde burger...in case you FORGOT, you still have it. :o:lol:Just kidding big guy...I am so happy you and Nila are ok. This is one reason I ordered my parents NOT to get a poodle, and get the German Shepard. Home invasions are real.If I was you Lee, next time this happens, just give him the burger... :)

[softail]

Scary situation. Looks like you handled it beautifully, you are the man! Nobody got killed, you protected your lady, the bad guy made it mmmmm home, best case scenario.Doug and Sally

[Mik]

Wow that was a close one. Did people freak out like that before modern anti-psychotic meds were invented? A basebal bat can be useful. An axe handle is good too. I have both..

Edited June 6, 2010 by Mik

[volstateguy]

I'm glad that you and Nila ok!  I had no doubt that you would be able to handle yourself in a situation like this.  

[UZI]

Hi Lee,As I said in my pm, glad this all came to a good conclusion all around. It is amazing how much strength we have when adrenaline enhanced in the defense of home & loved ones. You will no doubt be feeling like you have been in a major battle by now though. Take a long bath for those battered muscles mate. To put your post into a more 'on topic' course for this forum though, I wonder what comments would have followed if it started like this instead:

To start off with, we live in a nice gated community in Florida CEBU,

I guess we would be seeing things like:"See, this is what I mean about the danger of living here.""Yeah, where were the security guards?""I bet the guards were in on it""The guards would have been useless, there just kids"Etc etc etc.I would say that if it happened on a sub division here you would have got less neighbor help than if in the province. Interested to see what others think though if they read the story as in Cebu rather than Florida.Again, great to hear you are both ok.Uzi.

[Inspector]

Lee can take care of himself....I would not want to deal with him in a dark ally. The guy was a resident, a neighbor...thus security had no reason to believe another resident was capable of such actions. Ted Bundy was a resident somewhere as well you know. :oGuy simply was a nut who forgot to take his meds...Lee should be commended for NOT shooting him which was in his right. BTW, you can't compare living in Florida versus a foreigner that stands out in the Philippines as would Lee in Brownsville Brooklyn on a Saturday night on Pitkin Avenue. Remember, foreigners here stink of money...and that odor attracts a lot of flies, some of those the biting kind. That said, I know where to avoid being in America...dark woods down south, where they tie you up and make you squeal like a pig. :)

[Jollygoodfellow]

One good thing comes out of all this,all the things I taught Lee about self defense have paid off :o The only thing he forgot to do is the bayag trick,two twists to the left,hard twist to the right and the nut case should not be moving much more.Glad you guys are OK :)