Commentary: Football weekend gone wrong Published Oct. 22, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Diana Kendall 505th Command and Control Wing HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- What makes a good football weekend go bad? Well, after tailgating and having a great time meeting fellow fans, having your team throw away the game mistake after mistake is a start. Unfortunately, the weekend was about to get worse. We had packed our belongings and were about to check out of our hotel room the following day. Walking to my car, I hit the remote to unlock my doors with my 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter in tow. My husband, Carl was still in the hotel room gathering the last of our things. As I heard the beep of the doors unlocking, I saw a man running away from my car. Caught off guard, I yelled at him, "Hey!" As I hurried past my car, I noticed the rear passenger window was busted. I kept yelling, "Hey, Hey!" The robber ran around the dumpster and hid. Not thinking, I followed him my heart pounding. I couldn't believe he had broken my car window! As I came around the dumpster, I saw the robber carrying my digital camera case and a pair of binoculars that he had stolen. I was not about to let him get away with my camera. I continued yelling now calling for my husband to help. "Hey, stop! Those are my pictures! Carl! Carl! Help me!" My husband, hearing my screams, ran out of the hotel room and looked around. The robber had stopped startled in his tracks. He dropped the camera bag and binoculars and my husband quickly grabbed them. Not wanting the man to get away, I ran up and grabbed both of his wrists yelling at my husband to hurry and call the police. I thought I was going to have to push the man to the ground and sit on him or have my husband hold him down until the police arrived. My husband looked astonished and yelled at me, "Diana, let him go!" "No, call the police!" "Just let him go," was his answer as he fumbled for his cell phone. Hesitatingly, I released my grip and the robber took off running. Turning around, I asked the kids if they were OK as they had witnessed the entire ordeal. I relayed the address of the hotel to my husband who was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher. My son then said, "Mom there he is. He is in the parking lot." I ran towards the entrance of the parking lot but did not see the robber. Soon the police arrived and took a full report asking for a description of the man. Thankfully, I was able to give a fairly good description. Although the police drove around they did not spot the suspect. We cleared as much of the glass out of the car as possible and left to vacuum out the rest. We were ready to leave Atlanta and return home. This should be the end of my story, but there's more... While vacuuming the remaining glass a couple of blocks away, my son once again spotted the robber walking along the road within about 400 yards. Luckily, a police car was parked across the street. My husband ran across the street and notified the police of the situation while I called the cop who had given me his card with the case number. The police said the description was spot on and arrested the suspect immediately. He also matched the description of someone who had broken into another car in a nearby parking lot. Although the ending to our ordeal turned out positively, there were lessons to be learned. Hide or lock up your valuables. We had left a portable DVD player and two digital cameras in plain sight that should have been hidden or removed from the vehicle to avoid theft. With the economy the way it is and the holidays quickly approaching, people are looking for quick, easy cash. It doesn't take long to bust open a window and grab whatever is within reach. Know where you are and be vigilant. I remembered the exact address after having entered it into my GPS, but I normally don't pay attention to the hotel address. The cops arrived within three to five minutes and with a good description they easily recognized the suspect when he was caught. Think safety! Although I acted in the heat of the moment, I should not have chased the robber and grabbed him. I had no way of knowing whether or not he had any weapons with him. He could easily have been armed and hurt me or my family. Thankfully, no one was hurt but the outcome could have turned out much differently. Although I don't plan on making any future trips to Atlanta, I do plan on being more careful on what I leave visible in my vehicle. I will probably think twice before I run down a robber as well. For now, I just have to say my thanks for the way everything turned out, and in the end the only thing I lost was a sense of security and about $250 to fix my broken window. Maybe next time I will be content to watch my team lose from the comfort of my couch!
Commentary: Football weekend gone wrong Published Oct. 22, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Diana Kendall 505th Command and Control Wing HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- What makes a good football weekend go bad? Well, after tailgating and having a great time meeting fellow fans, having your team throw away the game mistake after mistake is a start. Unfortunately, the weekend was about to get worse. We had packed our belongings and were about to check out of our hotel room the following day. Walking to my car, I hit the remote to unlock my doors with my 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter in tow. My husband, Carl was still in the hotel room gathering the last of our things. As I heard the beep of the doors unlocking, I saw a man running away from my car. Caught off guard, I yelled at him, "Hey!" As I hurried past my car, I noticed the rear passenger window was busted. I kept yelling, "Hey, Hey!" The robber ran around the dumpster and hid. Not thinking, I followed him my heart pounding. I couldn't believe he had broken my car window! As I came around the dumpster, I saw the robber carrying my digital camera case and a pair of binoculars that he had stolen. I was not about to let him get away with my camera. I continued yelling now calling for my husband to help. "Hey, stop! Those are my pictures! Carl! Carl! Help me!" My husband, hearing my screams, ran out of the hotel room and looked around. The robber had stopped startled in his tracks. He dropped the camera bag and binoculars and my husband quickly grabbed them. Not wanting the man to get away, I ran up and grabbed both of his wrists yelling at my husband to hurry and call the police. I thought I was going to have to push the man to the ground and sit on him or have my husband hold him down until the police arrived. My husband looked astonished and yelled at me, "Diana, let him go!" "No, call the police!" "Just let him go," was his answer as he fumbled for his cell phone. Hesitatingly, I released my grip and the robber took off running. Turning around, I asked the kids if they were OK as they had witnessed the entire ordeal. I relayed the address of the hotel to my husband who was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher. My son then said, "Mom there he is. He is in the parking lot." I ran towards the entrance of the parking lot but did not see the robber. Soon the police arrived and took a full report asking for a description of the man. Thankfully, I was able to give a fairly good description. Although the police drove around they did not spot the suspect. We cleared as much of the glass out of the car as possible and left to vacuum out the rest. We were ready to leave Atlanta and return home. This should be the end of my story, but there's more... While vacuuming the remaining glass a couple of blocks away, my son once again spotted the robber walking along the road within about 400 yards. Luckily, a police car was parked across the street. My husband ran across the street and notified the police of the situation while I called the cop who had given me his card with the case number. The police said the description was spot on and arrested the suspect immediately. He also matched the description of someone who had broken into another car in a nearby parking lot. Although the ending to our ordeal turned out positively, there were lessons to be learned. Hide or lock up your valuables. We had left a portable DVD player and two digital cameras in plain sight that should have been hidden or removed from the vehicle to avoid theft. With the economy the way it is and the holidays quickly approaching, people are looking for quick, easy cash. It doesn't take long to bust open a window and grab whatever is within reach. Know where you are and be vigilant. I remembered the exact address after having entered it into my GPS, but I normally don't pay attention to the hotel address. The cops arrived within three to five minutes and with a good description they easily recognized the suspect when he was caught. Think safety! Although I acted in the heat of the moment, I should not have chased the robber and grabbed him. I had no way of knowing whether or not he had any weapons with him. He could easily have been armed and hurt me or my family. Thankfully, no one was hurt but the outcome could have turned out much differently. Although I don't plan on making any future trips to Atlanta, I do plan on being more careful on what I leave visible in my vehicle. I will probably think twice before I run down a robber as well. For now, I just have to say my thanks for the way everything turned out, and in the end the only thing I lost was a sense of security and about $250 to fix my broken window. Maybe next time I will be content to watch my team lose from the comfort of my couch!