You really cannot make this stuff up. It literally took a South Charlotte guy welding a golf club — what else? — to catch some of the Garage Door Opener Gang. From an email alert sent out by CMPD Wednesday:
At approximately 1:30 P. M. this afternoon, a burglary occurred at 6211 Providence Country Club Drive. The burglars first broke into the resident’s SUV which was parked at Providence Country Club. The burglars took the garage door opener and some bills from the vehicle. The suspects were able to get the victim’s address from one of the bills and went to the victim’s residence. The burglars then went to the residence and used the victim’s garage door opener to gain entry to his house.
The victim meanwhile had reached the first green when he noticed his dog in the yard. Since the victim had not left his dog outside, he went to check on his house and then saw the burglars’ vehicle parked in his driveway with the engine running. The resident could see the burglars in his house. The resident took the keys to the van and went back to the golf course. One of the suspects pursued the victim onto the golf course and confronted the victim while brandishing the flag/pin from the green. The victim was able to fend off the suspect by wielding a golf club.
There were two other suspects who left the residence. An off-duty officer who works for Providence Country Club happened to be passing by and was able to apprehend one suspect on the scene. A second suspect was located in the Longview Community in nearby Union County. A third suspect is still on the loose. He is described as a young black male wearing a red shirt and jeans. He was six feet tall with an athletic build and had short to medium left hair.
Based on the method of operation, we are speculating that these are the same individuals that were committing the series of “garage door opener” burglaries that have been occurring over the last two weeks.
Yeah, as golf course battles go, my money is always on the guy with the club. The flag may have the reach, but doesn’t pack much of a wallop. Not so a 9-iron.
Here’s an idea: Get a couple buddies together and have one of you park your unlocked car in South Charlotte shopping center with a garage door opener in plain view. Drop in a magazine or junk mail with the address of the garage. Hop a ride back to said garage — and wait. Park all cars out of sight, maybe have a beer or two and talk about gas mileage — but stay sharp. When some unluckly hoodlum rolls up, stay quiet and conceal yourself. Wait until they make it in the garage. It is now tee time. Fore!
Oh, don’t feel constrained to stick to golf clubs. Baseball bats would work fine too. I prefer an axe handle — good reach, strong, comfortable in the hands. This happens two or three times, I think word will spread pretty fast among Charlotte’s criminal class. Call it Operation QC Beatdown.
Meanwhile the crew that led police on a high-speed chase thru Huntersville turn out to have lengthy arrest records, one is a convicted felon, and all have virtually no time in jail. Big frickin’ surprise.
Bonus Observation: Crime in Charlotte is trying to keep track of Charlotte’s judges, starting with those up for election in November. Excellent idea. They can’t hide from their courtroom records.
