Once More with Feeling

Back in August 2013, someone took a stab at breaking into mailboxes. Looking for personal information to sell, I suppose.

The damage was minimal -- the corners of a few slots had been pried up, but the crook wasn’t able to actually get into the boxes with whatever tool he was using.

Mail was discontinued for a few weeks until what little damage had been done was corrected.

Lucky for us, there is a camera above the mailbox area. The dumb criminal, with a female acting as lookout, was identified and prosecuted.

Turns out, fresh out of prison, he was living here illegally with a sister who was trying to give him a chance.

His sister gives him a chance and this is how he shows appreciation?

In keeping with my favorite saying that "no good deed going unpunished", his sister was issued an eviction notice based on the lease clause that residents are responsible for the actions of their visitors and are not to have folks illegally living here with them. I understand the resident fought the eviction in court, but I never learned which particular resident it was and whether she was successful in fighting the eviction notice.

Fast forward to this morning when, after dropping off the trash early, before it got too hot, I detoured by the mail center to pick up yesterday's mail and was stopped dead in my tracks by this.

This crook came prepared. He knew exactly which tool would do the job, looks to have put a lot of feeling into accomplishing his goal of getting in, and we think we know who it is – Carol's son.

Carol had been living here long before I arrived, and was part of our regulars who use to meet up in the Community Room most mornings. I think the only time Carol was mentioned in this blog was when she pointed me out to her grandson, saying I was the only person here who played Pokémon Go, and he wanted to jump out of his mom's car and talk game to me.

At any rate, years living here, no problem, loved by all. But then she began allowing her drug addicted homeless son into her life.

He caused so much ruckus on the property that he was banned. Residents were told to call the police if we saw him, and residents did. He’d be escorted off, but would sneak right back in.

Carol, was torn between honoring the ban and helping her son, but all the drama took a tole on her. One day Carol was asking if she could walk with me on my daily walks (Sorry folks, but I danced around and avoided agreeing to that because I knew she couldn’t keep up), next minute Carol’s health began to rapidly fail until she one day just gave up and passed away, around Christmas 2016.

I’ve always thought Carol’s son killed her -- he was responsible for her death one way or another. That either she just got so sick/tired of it all that she gave up the ghost or he did something physical to her because, when the ambulance came to take Carol’s body away, we were shocked to see him exit the unit.

She’d evidently snuck him in. He was with her she died.

Very suspicious that.

So, anyway, it’s been almost two years and residents are still catching Carol’s son roaming the property. I myself haven’t seen him since a friend of his -- the woman who kept the nasty unit on the other side of the complex (treated twice for infestation of bed bugs and roaches brought about by hoarding and dumpster diving activities) and who still allowed him to sneak in was sent to rehab, never to return. Except a few days ago when I was surprised to see him at the market. He looked to be shoplifting.

So the long and short of it is, Carol’s son is back in the area, very familiar with this property, and the mailboxes are all of a sudden broken into.

Not only that, but running into Apache this morning, he tells me Carol’s son was escorted off the property just the day before the break-in.

He keeps coming back.

Apache, and the other resident who is in cahoots with him in getting the pit bull off the property, say Carol’s son has been camping up in the hills behind the complex. They are going to hike up there to see if they see mail strewn around.

Hopefully, the camera caught Carol’s son in the act and, since messing with the mail is a federal offense, the authorities will actually do something to get him out of this area for at least 5 to 10 years.

In talking with Apache, I also learned Head Maintenance Man’s wife delivered her baby girl yesterday. Labor was induced.

First of August is starting off with a bang!