Citizen's Arrest

The County Sheriff just left after interviewing Tristan and I. I did not know that a person could actually make a citizen's arrest. I could have made one tonight, but decided against it

After dinner this evening, Tristan, Cort and I walked down to the mail box together. We live on a narrow rural road, on a curved circle getting very little traffic. The mail boxes are grouped together on the curve just past our property and out of view of our house.

As we were heading back to our place, a car came speeding around the curve towards us, not slowing down at all as they passed us; I called out, 'hey slow down some'. Passing us and the mailboxes, the driver slammed on the brakes, slid the car in a 'donut' on the gravel and came barreling towards us at excessive speed, grabbing Cort by the collar and shoving Tristan, we had to dive towards the ditch. They dove-tailed around the curve and sped away from us.

Just as we were talking about how crazy they were, I heard the car speeding towards us again, same scenario but faster and closer to us, 3 young people laughing at us and deliberately threatening us. They repeated this a total of three spins, 6 passes by us at dangerous speeds and way too close. I was frightened and felt totally vulnerable.

The final run by, I told Tristan that we needed to try to read and remember the license number on the car. This time the car stopped next to us and we saw three freakish looking 'kids' laughing at us, taunting. Keeping calmer than I felt because I couldn't 'read' their intentions, I walked closer to the car and asked if they happened to be lost, the questioned surprised them. I was stepping back towards the rear of the car while talking to the driver, as the girl passengers kept laughing, I asked why he would drive that way with kids and animals on the road and he answered that they 'were out to have a little fun'. I was then able to read the license number out loud to Tristan, the driver cussed and gunned out and away even faster than before.

The number was simple to recall, it was my given name initials followed by 3 easy to remember numbers. We hoofed it home, wrote down descriptions we could remember and then I had Jerry call the sheriff, I was still very upset.

We went out and brushed horses and shoveled manure (a great stress reliever) until the sheriff showed up. They had used the number to track the car owner's house, the partner was still there questioning the driver. He is 17, was driving his parent's car and lives a short distance from here. The officer said that the parents were absolutely LIVID, and the kid was admitting to speeding other times too. They had no idea he was going out on joy rides. He had admitted to what I had originally reported to dispatch, but tried to make it sound better, like, they had just turned around to come back to ask me what I had called out to them. I asked the sheriff if he wanted to go down to the corner to see all the spin out tracks, he declined. :-)

He asked if I wanted to make a Citizen's Arrest, he had all the paper work and they could take the kid to jail and he'd go to 'jouvie'. I asked a lot of questions, it sounded like the kid's parents were going to definitely handle the problem, the kid was scared, and the kid wasn't lying about being involved. He had no previous complaints or record (yes I asked all this stuff). So I decided not to press charges, and I promised I would call first time we saw the kid driving on this road again.

Jerry, being Jerry, told the Sheriff that if someone had charged him with a car that way, he'd have stood in the middle of the road with his rifle and shot him. The Officer answer, "No kidding, me too!" I am standing there thinking, OK fellas, how many of us walk to the mailbox carrying rifles?

It disturbs me to continue to feel this shaken. I pray that those young adults realize how dangerous and foolish their 'having a good time' was. I hope that the parents of all involved, do some good, effective 'parenting' tonight.