Fnord wrote:
The Set-Up
I lived in a one-bedroom walkup apartment, next door to a meth addict. Any time of the day or night, she would pound on my door and demand that I stop spying on her (i.e., tapping her phone, opening her mail, x-raying her walls, reading her mind, et cetera). One of her regular boyfriends threatened me once, too.
This was soon after I got my first ham radio license. It was also soon after remote car alarms became affordable, and my neighbor had one installed in her pickup truck.
The Naughty Bit
It took some trial-and-error, but I found the frequency and code to her key fob (this was before rolling code sequences) using some radio test equipment. I obtained a "replacement" fob and triggered the truck's alarm that night.
The Result
She ran outside au naturale brandishing a loaded starter's pistol. The cops showed up, arrested her, gave her a raincoat to wear, and put her in the back of the squad car. Then her boyfriend for that night went outside and started arguing with the cops, so they stuck him in another squad car. By this time, there were five police cars and maybe a dozen (?) cops wandering around and asking questions. One asked me where she lived, and I pointed to the open door next to my apartment. The smell of marijuana was very strong (this was when possession of marijuana still carried severe penalties).
Long Story, Made Short
The cops found her drug stash, a few stolen weapons, and evidence suggesting she was running a one-woman cat-house. I never did see her or her boyfriends ever again. The landlord had to hire one of those crime-scene cleaning crews to refurbish the apartment. I moved out a few months later.
Can I hire you?
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"A loaded gun won't set you free. So you say." - Ian Curtis
02 Aug 2022, 6:15 pm
