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DaytonaDemon t1_j2cv67s wrote

Reply to comment by DidDunMegasploded in Feel safe by Kazbob48

>Even if they come in the form of "needing a car jumpstarted at 1am but really they're going to abduct you".

Happened to me about four, five years ago. Mount Desert Island, super-frigid winter night. It's something like 3:30 a.m. and I've fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV. There's a sudden knock on my front door. Bro says his battery died, would I give him a jump start? He points to his car over on the other side of the road.

I'm groggy but have just enough presence of mind to notice that his blinkers are on. So, not a dead battery then. Hmm.

I ask him to hold on while I pretend to get dressed but I'm already on the phone with the cops. They arrive four or five minutes later (I'm impressed), and ask him some questions and detain him. I watch them remove a long gun from his car.

Later I learn he had a handgun that the police also confiscated.

Who knows what his intention were. Maybe he was harmless and it was all some misunderstanding, but yeah, it spooked me a little. Not enough to barricade my doors or even lock my cars. It's absolutely true that Maine is a comparatively super-safe state, and I love that. Still: stay alert people, and stay safe.

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wmansir t1_j2dh2o4 wrote

FYI, a battery can still have plenty of power for lights etc, but not enough to crank the engine enough to start the car. A weak battery usually becomes evident when it is cold because the cold reduces the batteries performance and a cold engine is harder to turn over.

But it's still suspicious to have a stranger come to your door that late for a jump. A weak battery isn't going to cause a running car to break down on the side of the road.

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DaytonaDemon t1_j2eb6c4 wrote

>A weak battery isn't going to cause a running car to break down on the side of the road.

Exactly this. That was my thinking. There's no proper/legal place to park on either side of the road where I live, so I knew that he hadn't parked the car, visited a neighbor for a few hours, and came back to a dead battery.

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cheryltuntsocelot t1_j2ehsa4 wrote

A guy i went to high school with was shot (in Maine) trying to pull this scam. He knocked on the door of a known drug dealer 🤦🏼‍♀️

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DaytonaDemon t1_j2emsx0 wrote

What was the scam? What did he have in mind?

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cheryltuntsocelot t1_j2evlcp wrote

Had his girlfriend knock on the door claiming their car crashed, homeowner came to the door with a gun and they jumped him. Homeowner shot the guy and killed him. https://www.bangordailynews.com/2010/12/20/news/affidavit-eastbrook-shooting-victim-armed-with-gun/

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