[Skyhawk]

Well, I thought that I would post about an incident that happened to me in March. I have been reluctant to post about this episode previously and wanted to hear how other folks on this board felt about it.

A little about myself first. Been around firearms for a long time (35+ yrs) and carried infrequently prior to CHL. Carried regularly CHL since '95. Have been a multi-discipline NRA Certified Instructor for over two decades. I'm a peaceful person and usually keep to myself. I have disabled parking plates on my vehicle due to a physical disability. I just renewed my CHL last week and my qualifying group was all rounds (50) in a group about the size of the bottom of a coke can.

I have lived in a nice apartment complex in Corpus Christi for about three years and pay a fairly high rent payment. Residents pay extra for reserved and covered parking. Almost all of the folks that live there are courteous and respectful of others with only a couple of exceptions.

In early March some folks moved in and immediately started parking in other peoples reserved parking spaces during the day and sometimes all night. Free parking spaces are very limited. This went on for about three weeks. It is a part of the lease agreement, as well as posted "no parking signs" throughout the complex so every tenant is aware of the rules. I am DoD and a lot of military personal live at the complex. As I observed this behavior, and as it was none of my business, I said nothing. Several of my military neighbors would come home late at night only to find these people parked in their space. I figured that they would register a complaint with the manager.

Well, one evening I come home from work and guess what? They are now parking in my reserved space. I called the apartment manager and the vehicle was towed. About one hour later I was setting on my second floor balcony and witnessed several (30 ish) "gang member" types vandalize my 2000 Lariat. I called the police and went downstairs to examine the damage (about $1000 worth). There was a group of these people (six or seven) still in the area. If you have ever seen the older hispanic gang members in the Texas prisons on TV, this is exactly what they looked like.

It was dark and as they were still within earshot, I asked them why they had damaged my truck and told them that I had witnessed the vandalism and the police were on the way. Several of them became very irate and started cursing and insulting me. One large individual quickly charged me, covering about thirty feet, loudly yelling "I didn't do nothing you MF'er". He was holding his keys in his right hand, chest puffed out, and waving his arms up and down. I did not retreat and told him to stop advancing and to not come any closer but he ignored me. He got right in my face (about three inches away) and while waving the keys in my face began yelling and cursing again. He had very bad breath and his saliva was hitting my glasses. I was in condition red and was trying to keep track of the location of his companions. I felt an attack was imminent but did not want to over-react and tried to rely upon my training to deescalate the situation.

I was wearing sweats and a loose t-shirt with my fanny-pack underneath. I had turned my left side to the perp to keep my right arm clear with my hand under my t-shirt on my pistol. He continued to rant and spout profanities. I stood my ground and expected the worst to happen. After a minute or two a couple of his companions came over and physically pulled him away saying it wasn't worth the trouble. I then retreated into the parking lot to wait for the police to show up and they continued to taunt and curse saying "Are your F'in cop buddies going to show up?"

After a couple of minutes, the same person that had charged me earlier, quickly covered about forty feet loudly yelling "I'm going to F you up you MF'er". I again told him to stop advancing and to not come any closer. He ignored me completely and got in my face again waving his arms with his keys in his right hand, bad breath, spit and all. I felt certain he has going to attack me this time so I positioned myself and prepared to draw going through my mind what I needed to do. I did not feel that his bad behavior and ranting would be viewed by a jury as allowing me to use deadly force quite yet, as he had not laid a hand on me. He continued to vent and curse for a minute or two until his buddies pulled him away again stating that it was not worth it. All of this ruckus caused some of the neighbors to look out of their windows to see what the heck was going on.

This individual came very, very close to being shot. If he had struck me or knocked me down, or his buddies would have ganged up I would have been forced to defend myself.

Well the police came and ran everybody for warrants and took a report. As the perps denied vandalizing my truck, no arrests were made, as it was my word against theirs. I went to the DA the next week and they declined to act on the matter stating that it was a "he said, she said". I went to the apartment manager in an attempt to have these jerks evicted and was unsuccessful as they claimed complete innocence.

These lowlifes are still around and I'm hoping the high rent will discourage them from renewing their lease. I believe that they make a habit of intimidating and bullying people around to get their way. Some of the other neighbors are afraid of them. These folks have at least three or four visitors each night that only stay for a short period of time and then leave.

It has been my belief that "bad things happen to bad people". It is my fervent desire that this jerk picks on the wrong person and winds up taking a permanent dirt nap.

Skyhawk