Greetings Net,

For those in the vicinity of the Rockledge Country Club, specifically in the area of Hagan Lane located across Fiske Boulevard, the following might explain why you noted the Rockledge Police Department and support agencies responding to the area on Thursday, 15 December 2011. The story was aired on Fox News and is provided, in part with a few changes from the original text. The homeowner providing the story below is a senior citizen, a little over 85 years young:

(PROVIDED IN PART) WE HAD A LITTLE EXCITEMENT ALONG HAGAN LANE, A BLACK MALE CHOSE TO ENTER MY HOME. UNBEKNOWNST TO ME, HE HID IN MY CLOSET. COPS ALL OVER THE PLACE LOOKING FOR HIM.

I HAD A NEIGHBOR CALL ALERTING ME OF SOMEONE IN THE AREA. HE PROBABLY ENTERED WHILE I WAS IN THE KITCHEN (BACK DOOR ENTRY).

I WAS CONVERSING WITH BACK-DOOR NEIGHBORS ABOUT THE SITUATION AND TURNED TO LEAVE THE ROOM, CLOSET DOOR AJAR = AHA!! I OPENED IT AND HE WAS THERE. #%*@!!!, GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE. HE BACKED ME UP AND I STARTED SCREAMING, I WENT DOWN (BAD LEGS) AND SCREAMED SOME MORE. HE COVERED MY MOUTH AND ASKED ME NOT TO TELL ON HIM.

HE WAS NOT ROUGH OR RUDE TO ME AND I WAS FURIOUS. ANYHOO – I TOLD HIM I WANTED HIM OUT OF MY HOUSE! HE LEFT THE BACK ROOM AND I OPENED THE DOOR AND MOTIONED TO FOLKS ON THE BACK FENCE THAT HE WAS IN THERE. HE CAME BACK AND I REPEATED MY EXHORTATION ABOUT THE HOUSE, OPENED THE DOOR WIDE AND TOLD HIM TO LEAVE.

HE JUMPED THE FENCE AND I THOUGHT I WAS DONE. APPARENTLY, HE RE-ENTERED MY YARD AND JUMPED THE WOOD FENCE TO THE NORTH. THE HELICOPTER SPOTTED HIM A COUPLE HOUSES NORTH. OUR COPS WORKED WELL. …

The individual was apprehended and taken into custody. If I receive any further information regarding this arrest, I will pass it to you. I am unsure why the individual was trying to hide from the police; I can only speculate that he was being sought because someone contacted the Rockledge Police Department and reported him as a suspicious person in their neighborhood or saw him committing a crime.

Please ask yourself right now, “Do I have a door unlocked that would be best if locked, are any windows opened in a room that is not occupied, did I leave my garage door open, is my car in the driveway locked and valuables out of site, do I have reasonable lighting around my home to illuminates the area at night, and if someone knocked on my door and I noted it was a stranger – what would I do (what would my children do)?” Now wonder if your neighbor is reading this e-mail and / or taking the same precautions as to not draw attention to your area. You are your neighbors’ eyes and ears as are they to your home. It has to be a team thing.

Please be vigilant, be involved and be safe – work together to present your piece of the community as a hardened target against criminal activity.

Network Administrator