Nobody talks to a rat

Caleb · Post by **Caleb** » 21 May 2007 06:24

So.......the most intimidating person I've ever seen just moved in next door to me. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to have a conversation with this much needed addition to the local community and here's what I know about him so far:

He's 6'5" and 280lbs of muscle. He's a starting lineman for Pitt and he deals weed, coke, and a variety of pills out of his new estate (and business seems to be going well considering I usually see people temporarily park outside and stop by for brief 5 minute visits). He lives alone in a house rented for 4 people and is installing a hot tub in one of the spare bedrooms. He owns a gun, has an extremely short-temper (probably induced from all the steroids), yells obscene things at every girl that walks by the house, and loves Jesus.

A brief history I have with the gentlemen:

After a Pitt hockey game, said person (who obviously should be bound for higher education) was saying some inappropriate comments to some of the team's girlfriends. When my best friend in the world said "Dude, that's not cool. You shouldn't say stuff like that." He FREAKED OUT!!!! and challenged the entire hockey team to a 12 on 1 fist fight which I had no choice but to get involved in and play peacemaker because I seriously doubted that the 12 hockey players would come out uninjured. Someone must be watching over me because (judging from our relaxed conversation) apparently he doesn't remember me.

So I'm not too sure what I'm going to do about this. The city police department might recieve an anonymous phone call. Although I've never been in a situation so dire that I needed to involve the police like this. But I'm pretty scared of this dude and the prospect of the high society of Pittsburgh now hanging out just next door when I am coming home late from labs and when my girlfriend comes to visit me.........has me a little worried. I think what I'm probably going to do though is talk to him as frequently as possible about football statistics, degrading names for young girls, and the joy of the catholic church until he grows to really like me. I can talk to pretty much anyone and he seems like a great person to have on my side for the short time that I dwell in the ghetto and finish up school.

What does modified think?

sanuke okumatzu · Post by **sanuke okumatzu** » 21 May 2007 06:34

If he's dealing drugs.... I would call the cops on him... Preferably after you get to know him better. ( Thusly he dosn't...ya' know.. suspect you and snap you in half)

My three cents at least....Who know's what kind of people will be in and out of there if he continues to live there.

PegLegHolly · Post by **PegLegHolly** » 21 May 2007 08:18

I wouldn't get involved with him at all. You don't want to be guilty by association, ya know? If he bothers you or your girlfriend, then I would call the cops... but if he's selling drugs next door and doesn't mess with you, then I would just let him alone but keep an eye out.

Feeling safe in your own home should be considered as a human right... even in the ghetto. If you don't feel safe, then you should make use of the authorities.

mc · Post by mc » 21 May 2007 08:33

well, seems like he already doesn't feel safe. I think we can agree on that.

it seems like your fear is well founded. Contact your university police, I guess. They have protocol to protect people in your situation. DO NOT TELL ANYONE if you decide to go that route. Words are like wildfire, and you don't want those words getting away from you, especially if this guy is dangerous.

I've never been in this situation, so I can't really say for sure what to do. sorry buddy

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 21 May 2007 09:32

I'd say if you genuinely feel unsafe, then do something.

other than that, have solid conversations with him and build a state of trust.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 21 May 2007 10:10

You didn't explicitly write this, but I think I'm detecting some trepidation on your part to call the cops, because you don't want this guy to know it was you and then fuck you up. If that's one of the main reasons thats holding you back, you should remember that he deals drugs to lots of people. That means there are a lot of people who could have ratted him out. Its not like hes doing something that only you know about. If that were the case, he'd be pretty sure who it was that ratted him out. But if he's doing business with lots of people, that widens his list of suspects, and he's gotta figure they have more reasons to rat him out than you do.

If I were in your situation, I would do one of two things.

1. Call the cops. He's doing something illegal, and you feel unsafe. You could argue that marijuana doesnt hurt anybody, but if hes moving coke, you can be pretty sure that there's some serious blood/shit that went down to produce it.

OR

2. Stay completely away from him.

I personally wouldn't get to know him or befriend him. He seems unbalanced, so you don't want to be around when he snaps. Who's to say he'll be nicer to you just cause he knows you? If he's on drugs, the best bet is to stay away. You also dont want to risk being his friend if he gets busted. The cops would want to know why you didn't report him, you may be an accomplice, etc.

In short, I think that befriending him has very little reward, and only gives you more risk. I'd narc him out and not feel bad about it, or I'd put up with the situation but not become his friend.

Be careful Caleb, and good luck.

Outsider · Post by **Outsider** » 21 May 2007 10:40

Caleb,

Find a new place to live, quick. Move in with your gf while you look for a new place and try to break your lease or find somebody to sublet from you or something, but I think you should simply physically move yourself away from that situation as soon as possible.

Even if this individual himself were somehow "safe" for you to be around, dealers get robbed. He knows it; thats why he has a gun. Either he's gonna wind up using it on somebody, or somebody is going to use one on him. Either way, bullets could soon be flying through your neighborhood without much warning. It isn't just this guy who is dangerous, its alot of the people he becomes associated with. One dangerous dude will attract more dangerous dudes to him, whether as his friends or his enemies doesn't matter.

When a flood comes to town, its all fine and good to call the authorities, but the best bet, if possible, is simply to head for higher ground.

Good luck, Caleb.

BainbridgeShred · Post by **BainbridgeShred** » 21 May 2007 15:20

I think most of you are making to much of a deal out of this. Unstable people are generally pretty predictable once you get used to their habits, and I don't see many avenue's where you could actually suffer as a result of this guy. Build a distanced but neighborly relationship with dude, and keep it at that. This could actually be pretty fun.

Isn't Pitt a school known for producing great Linemen to the NFL? If this guy is a starter, why is he risking so much? Oh yeah, he's a crazy motherfucker. See, predictable.

RawSko · Post by **RawSko** » 21 May 2007 15:56

I don't think that I can fully grasp how serious the situation is. At the very least, one could say that it sucks, but I'm not sure that moving away is entierly necessary. It may be, but I suppose all anyone can do for you is leave that up to your discresion.

I can offer a limited amount of empathy though. When I was 4 we moved into the condo that I live in right now. There's another complex of town houses next door, but they are pretty much all rented out to people who have houses only because of the taxes that the rest of us pay. I can't remember much from when I was that young, but when I was six, my little sister was born. Eventually she moved into her own room and shortly after that, we found a bullet in her window. It was just a little BB, but it had shattered the window and if the window had been open and somebody had been in the way, it would have at least hurt pretty bad. There have been several drug-overdose induced deaths since I've lived here, and there was one case of second degree murder by knife. There are definately alot of parents over there that deal crack in front of their kids all the time... There have also been multiple cases of rather annoying noise polution... They play really shitty music.

One time when I was 6 or 7 or so, I whent outside to build a snowman by myself while I waited for my mom to come play with me outside (I'm still a momma's boy today too, btw) and when I was getting to the fun part of actually shapping the snow man (I had rolled all three balls I needed) a bunch of kids from the condo on the other side had brought a bunch of snow up to their bedrooms (

) and they threw snowballs at me until I ran inside. Then they came and smashed all the balls I had made.

And another time, my little sister and her friends were playing soccer in the yard out front and I was playing footbag nearby. I saw a group of at least 6 kids all older than my sister and her friends and they just walked up, grabbed the ball and whent back over to their side of the fence. I whent and got the ball back from my sister, but still... I couldn't believe the nerve these kids had.

They also throw frogs and garbage in our pool every summer.

anyway... the point of this all, is that crappy neighbors suck, but one can adapt. Maybe my situation is less serious than your'se.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 21 May 2007 17:59

He's got a gun, dealing coke, and the fact that you don't feel comfortable in having him demeanoring your girlfriend or other women is all the more reason for me to stay away. I would move.

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 21 May 2007 18:32

Offer a deal to the police that you'll turn in a big drug dealer, and if they fuck up and don't catch him, and he gets away, demand that they put you in the witness protection program.

crazylegs32 · Post by **crazylegs32** » 21 May 2007 19:01

witness protection?

Skippy! · Post by **Skippy!** » 21 May 2007 20:55

There's one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet...how do any of us know whether or not there's a drug dealer in the neighbourhood? I mean, okay, I'm pretty sure that on my street there's none. But in my general area? Well, I've never really heard any crazy gnarliness, like gunshots, but otherwise, would I really know? What I'm saying is that there's drug dealers in every corner of the world. It's pretty hard to avoid em. Only difference in your situation, Caleb, is that one lives next door, and you know about it. Someone else said to maintain a neighbourly relationship, and I think that that's the key. Don't be overtly nice and try to go over for Friday dinner, but say hi if you see the guy at least, don't ignore him completely. As for staying safe, you seem like a pretty sharp fella, and I have a feeling you'd be able to tell if things were starting to escalate to a really crazy point...I mean, if there starts being more all-night parties, more people being loud outside at night, more yelling, more fights, etc. etc. etc., that's when it's time to worry.

I think so, at least.

Guest_1 · Post by **Guest_1** » 21 May 2007 21:11

He's a drug dealer and is crazy

Call the cops and make sho yo ass is protected

I've got your back man

brian relly · Post by **brian relly** » 21 May 2007 21:20

sounds like a pretty convenient place to get weed, to me. just stay on his good side. I would be a little wary if he asked for a favor, but other than that I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think there's any worry about guilty by association. if he actually got busted and the police actually asked you about it I'd just say yeah you saw some weird stuff but you never actually saw anything go down and you didn't want to pry into others' business.

Blue_turnip · Post by **Blue_turnip** » 22 May 2007 01:59

Stay on his good side, and try to agree with him, but not when you see it as morally wrong (such as derogatory names for girls).

You know what they say in the mafia? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Haha.

Yeah, as mentioned it would be pretty convenient place to get your supply of psychoactives.

Caleb · Post by **Caleb** » 22 May 2007 04:37

Well I suppose I'm going to hang back and feel out this situation a bit more. I mean is the dude dangerous? Yes. Is he unstable? Very. But he IS just a college athlete. Not exactly Scarface. So perhaps things will just roll on as they have done with certain changes behind closed doors. I just found out that he's only subletting for the summer. (I wonder what's going to happen to the hot tub

) I'll be keeping my guard up and a watchful eye out though.

Thanks for the concern, modified.

Switch Kicker · Post by **Switch Kicker** » 22 May 2007 08:34

Get really close to him. Become his best friend, and then, become his "brother." When you finally have grown so close to him that he'll call you his brother, talk to him about investing in life insurance. Then get him to put it in your name. Then, when you're with him during a drug deal, kill him, and blame it on a bad drug deal and you were just an innocent bystander. Collect on the insurance without feeling guilty because you rid your community of a bad influence on kids.

You know you want to.