Need Some Advice

[WeezyBengal]

A couple days ago I was involved in a minor traffic altercation. I was (admittedly) speeding and someone pulled out in front of me. I kind of threw up my hands (did not flip the bird) but that's all I really did. The person who pulled out in front of me did NOT like this. He proceeded to get in the turn lane, get behind me, and follow me. He then kept getting in the middle lane, wound his windows down and threatened me multiple times.

He basically wanted me to pull over so he could "beat my ass" and then said he was going to follow me to work to beat my ass in front of all my co workers. He was irate. I didn't really respond to his threats, I just said "OK" and "alright" and I did tell him he needed to "relax". I also told him that he pulled out in front of me when he insinuated that the road wasn't a "race track". Those are about the only words we had. He ended up pulling off on a side street about a mile from where I work. He never found out where I worked. I could just tell that this guy was a bad, bad guy.

Later that night (8:30 pm) I caught a car that looked EXACTLY like his on my ring doorbell cam. A black Cadillac with tinted windows. It was driving really slowly by my house. Creeping. My neighbor (lives two doors down) said he was walking his dog and it was creeping by him at a "walking pace". He said the guy in the car acted like he wanted to say something to him but eventually drove by.

I've noticed a couple other different cars creeping by my house the past two nights. I have no idea if they are related to the other car, but my mind is going bonkers. I've had my car garaged ever since the incident, so none of these cars have yet to see my car in the driveway or at my house.

So this is where I am at. I'm pretty shook up over the entire thing. I called the police and filed a report. They said they would do more rounds (although I have yet to see a cop car drive by on my ring cam). I had my brother bring over a shotgun.

My worry is that he did an initial drive by to "scout" the area until he comes back and makes some kind of a move toward me, my car, or my family.

This entire thing is taking up a lot of head space and giving me a ton of anxiety. I'm not 100% sure it was the exact car/guy - but it just seems like too much of a coincidence. I've never seen a black Cadillac with tinted windows in my neighborhood ever. And then to see one creeping by my house the same night as the road rage incident I had? It seems like a connection to me. My only question is how he would get my address. I am 100% sure he never followed me home from work. The only way he could have gotten it is from a lookup from my license plate number.

So what do you all think? Is my mind playing tricks on me? Do you think I should be legit concerned? What else can I do?

[HarleyDog]

Damn, I can see why your head would be spinning. That's some scary stuff right there. Is there a place you can get some "This home protected by ADT" signs or something? That might help deter someone. Also, maybe change the bulb to blue on your porch. Might confuse someone that you either support the police or are a police officer. Do you have any policemen that live in your neighborhood that take their car home? Maybe he could park it in front of your house for a few days? Did you happen to get the license plate numbers of the creeping cars? Did your camera possibly pick it up? Maybe the police could investigate them.

[WeezyBengal]

(12-17-2021, 11:08 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: Damn, I can see why your head would be spinning. That's some scary stuff right there. Is there a place you can get some "This home protected by ADT" signs or something? That might help deter someone. Also, maybe change the bulb to blue on your porch. Might confuse someone that you either support the police or are a police officer. Do you have any policemen that live in your neighborhood that take their car home? Maybe he could park it in front of your house for a few days? Did you happen to get the license plate numbers of the creeping cars? Did your camera possibly pick it up? Maybe the police could investigate them.

No, I didn't get the plate number. 

If I needed to get the plate number, I probably could eventually. He pulled out in front of me coming out of a UDF. If it becomes more of a serious issue than I could call them and they could work with the police to get his plate number. I don't think we are at that point yet though. 

[fredtoast]

If anyone ever tries to make contact with you from another car to threaten you just let them see you pick up your phone. Pull over if have to. If they pull over also then call the police. If they drive by then you can get their tag number.

I got in a road rage incident many years ago before cell phones existed. I was not the aggressor. But eventually police intervened because a truck driver had reported it on his CB.

[WeezyBengal]

(12-17-2021, 11:56 AM)fredtoast Wrote: If anyone ever tries to make contact with you from another car to threaten you just let them see you pick up your phone.  Pull over if have to.  If they pull over also then call the police.  If they drive by then you can get their tag number.

I got in a road rage incident many years ago before cell phones existed.  I was not the aggressor.  But eventually police intervened because a truck driver had reported it on his CB.

I wish I would have gotten my cell phone out and just recorded the entire thing. 

It was such a minor incident that set him off. I thought it was over until I saw his car roll by my house the other night. That's when I got concerned again. He somehow got my address from my license plate number.  

[HarleyDog]

(12-17-2021, 12:00 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I wish I would have gotten my cell phone out and just recorded the entire thing. 

It was such a minor incident that set him off. I thought it was over until I saw his car roll by my house the other night. That's when I got concerned again. He somehow got my address from my license plate number.  

Getting someone's info from a license plate number is hard to do. Maybe the dude is a cop himself?

[kalibengal]

Sounds suspicious for sure....and the stakes higher that you have family. Do you have a dog? When I say dog, a real protection type of dog i.e. German Shepherd, Pit bull etc. Our Shepherd growls and barks before anyone gets within 50 feet of our house....great alert.
Post the sign outside your home and I would also tell all my neighbors to keep an eye out.

[*Synric*]

(12-17-2021, 12:06 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Getting someone's info from a license plate number is hard to do. Maybe the dude is a cop himself?

Car Dealerships also have access to that info.


For the OP: I carry a 2 foot maglite in the door of my car lol.

[Bengalzona]

(12-17-2021, 12:06 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Getting someone's info from a license plate number is hard to do. Maybe the dude is a cop himself?

Not really a cop way of reacting. Even stupid cops are painfully aware of how they are perceived in public, on or off duty. Driving erratically and yelling at someone through the window that you are going to "kick their ass" are not cop moves. Cops are much more direct and discreet. A cop would have driven discreetly at a distance and followed Weezy all the way to his work, maybe approaching him in the parking lot. Also, creeping through the neighborhood 12 hours later, ostensibly to send a threatening message that could easily be misconstrued or ignored is not a cop move.

No. More likely some local yahoo with passive-aggressive tendencies trying to get an adrenaline high on rage to escape a daily life where he feels impotent, flaccid and inadequate. You got to consider that anyone who feels the need to carry-over a dispute over a minor traffic incident 12 hours later has got to have a pretty pathetic life.

[WeezyBengal]

(12-17-2021, 01:59 PM)Bengalzona Wrote: Not really a cop way of reacting. Even stupid cops are painfully aware of how they are perceived in public, on or off duty. Driving erratically and yelling at someone through the window that you are going to "kick their ass" are not cop moves. Cops are much more direct and discreet. A cop would have driven discreetly at a distance and followed Weezy all the way to his work, maybe approaching him in the parking lot. Also, creeping through the neighborhood 12 hours later, ostensibly to send a threatening message that could easily be misconstrued or ignored is not a cop move.

No. More likely some local yahoo with passive-aggressive tendencies trying to get an adrenaline high on rage to escape a daily life where he feels impotent, flaccid and inadequate. You got to consider that anyone who feels the need to carry-over a dispute over a minor traffic incident 12 hours later has got to have a pretty pathetic life.

Just an update: 

I challenged myself to find my co workers address based on his license plate this morning at work. I was able to do it in about 15 minutes using a third party online website. 

It's terrifying the amount of information out there you can get on people. 

[George Cantstandya]

Some of those cars driving around slowly might be porch pirates. I imagine this time of year is their peak season.

As to your concerns. You've already talked to the police and it sounds like that's the best you can do in that regard. You are also armed for home protection so that's good as well. Hopefully you are comfortable with firearms and how to use them. The last time you want to learn to use a firearm is when you need it for self defense.

Other than that, and something people should practice anyway, is sharpen up on your situational awareness. Make a habit of always being aware of your surroundings looking for anything that's off and making mental notes of possible escape routes, things you might defend yourself with if it comes to that and any other aspects that may be beneficial in an emergency situation. Remember if something seems like it isn't right there is a good chance something is up.

Before you leave the house have a good look out all of your windows to check the area for anything out of the ordinary. Take advantage of your Ring doorbell and check it before you open the garage door and close the garage door as soon as you back out. Talk to all your neighbors and tell them what's up and ask them to keep an eye out and contact you if they see something that doesn't look right. Ask them to try and collect descriptions and license plate numbers of any suspicious people.

If you think you are being followed while driving make a series of turns in the same direction, example all right turns until you drive around the block. If the same vehicle is still behind you after a complete lap then there is a good chance they are following you. In that case drive directly to the closest police station or fire station. It would be a good idea to know the route by memory but if not use your phone or car GPS, preferably voice activated. You can also call the police while you are driving and tell them someone is following you but make sure you can give them the street names of your location and then follow their directions.

Since you have the Ring doorbell, I don't now if you also have their alarm system? I have both and the alarm system is affordable with a very inexpensive monitoring service. Or you can use it without monitoring. In that case it's just is really loud alarm but without monitoring no emergency services will be dispatched. I've been very pleased with mine. It's easy to set up with no wiring. So that might be something to look into.

tl;dr It sounds like you have done what you can on your end. So just be extra aware of your surroundings and have well rehearsed mental plan of what you will do should something go wrong. Make sure your family is up to speed on emergency plan as well. Like what to do and where to go should someone force their way into your house.

[Bengalzona]

(12-17-2021, 03:31 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Just an update: 

I challenged myself to find my co workers address based on his license plate this morning at work. I was able to do it in about 15 minutes using a third party online website. 

It's terrifying the amount of information out there you can get on people. 

Check for his car the next time you go by UDF (slow down first, of course!). If it is there, pull in and take a picture of his license.

(BTW - I think you can find warrant info and some arrest records in the internetwebz nowadays, as well ;-) )

[Interceptor]

Get a dashcam. It will save you from so much headache.

[grampahol]

(12-17-2021, 08:20 PM)Interceptor Wrote: Get a dashcam. It will save you from so much headache.

Definitely get a dash cam, but something else I would suggest is that if this yahoo actually does approach your car while you're behind the wheel carrying any kind of weapon don't be too afraid to run over his stupid ass. I've run over 3 people trying to play the fugging idiot threatening me and a passenger once when I was driving a cab. The other was some fool getting his ass kicked outside a bar in Dayton one night. He tried to get in my car from the drivers side after I stopped to avoid hitting the fool. Once he tried to get in all bets were off and he received two broken legs compliments of my then Toyota Celica.. One thing I know for certain is that if you're moving at any kind of speed beyond that of a snails pace nobody is going to stop your vehicle with their bare hands. Cars can be great weapons.. Don't be afraid to use it if the need arises.