Robbery on Mosby Street
Capt. Paul Kiniry said the man told officers he was listening to music on his laptop at 2:05 a.m. in the 800 block of Mosby Street when a man with a handgun came on the porch, confronted him and forced him to surrender the computer and cash before fleeing.
laptop + porch + 2am + 800 block of Mosby = of course you got robbed!
Not to blame the victim, but yeah… what #1 said. It sucks that this is the case but when you live right next to a project, you need to use a little caution. Probably not a good idea to display anything of real value in public late at night around there. Hope the cops can get it back and sorry for your loss.
On a related note – seems like robberies are picking up lately as the weather warms up and the economy stays in the shitter. Yet, I haven’t seen many of these getting solved.
Is that just bad PR on the Police Dept’s side or are they too busy writing speeding tickets out on 95 to bother solving crime?
If these types of things continue to go unsolved, it invites more of them and creates a general sense of lawlessness which can lead to escalating issues. Murders have been down but hopefully it doesn’t take one to get the cops back to solving real crime and not writing parking tickets and/or sitting in their car working a speed trap.
I could give less of a shit about folks dealing drugs. Worry about the crimes with victims. If the drug dealers or users are committing crimes against others, that’s when we need to arrest them.
Sorry for the rant but it’s getting frustrating to see all these crimes picking up.
I have to agree w/you Alex on all counts. Foolish not to be heads-up at 2 am. And, where ARE the police?! There are lots of young people, students, etc. trying to make Union Hill their home. It is so close to downtown & MCV. But without something being done about this “lawlessness”, the area has no way to go but down. Leave the speed traps & do some real police work by protecting, not punishing the public. Enough of my rant also.
I agree with you Alex on all points, except the 2:00 am curfew. I don’t like feeling as though I have to be a prisoner in my own home. . . and I do consider the porch as being a part of my home. It would take a very bold person to walk up on my porch at 2:00 in the a.m., in any case. I guess, better safe than sorry…but if someone is bold enough to walk up on my porch, then I assume they would be bold enough to take it a step further. This person(s) needs to be caught by the police. This case should be taken very seriously by the police. One’s porch is one’s domain.
Cordie, I don’t disagree that you SHOULD be able to sit on your porch anytime. It’s just probably not a good idea if you want to be safe. Anyone out that late is probably up to no good. It sucks but until Richmond PD can start cleaning up the streets, it’s probably safer not to put yourself in harm’s way.
When I lived in Church Hill by 27th and Leigh, I was CONSTANTLY approached by people when I was outdoors simply enjoying the night air and a cold beer during the Summer. people asking for beer, money, rides, drugs, sex…you name it. It’s part of living on the fringe of the inner city.
Thankfully, I had a medium sized dog who would sit right next to me that’s very protective and who also growls like she’s about to devour you if she’s not familiar with you :) Several times though, people actually entered the yard and walked up onto the porch and knocked on my door asking for money. The scariest time is when I was asked by someone to come next door into the alley to…and I quote “meet the preacher from the church”. I told him that I’d be right over, baseball bat and two large male roommates in tow….Needless to say, he scurried on his way and moved on to his next potential victim
Folks, we know this is not Brandermill. That’s one of the reasons we live here – the diversity & character. That being said – it is mere common sense to not sit on your porch at 2am with a laptop, oblivious to your surroundings as Amy Winehouse blares in your earphones.
Drew, you are right about a dog being a deterrent to potential unwelcomed interaction. Most would be approachers won’t even bother with a dog in the yard. Still, for the ones who are braver/sneakier, I think that common sense needs to prevail.
If one wants to cut off from the world in cyberspace & enjoy their digital music via headphones, I suggest they do it indoors.