Hearing about the recent string of break-ins in Southie quickly brought me back to 2016 when I experienced this firsthand. It happened in the early hours of an October morning as I was sleeping safely (or so I thought) in my bed. I awoke suddenly to see a strange man in my bedroom staring back at me and immediately thought something bad was about to go down.
The stranger offered no comprehensible excuse as to why he was there – but instead walked out of my apartment only to walk back in minutes later. Terrified, I grabbed my phone and dialed 911. I heard the man go into a neighboring apartment, but the police were unable to arrest him due to no one answering the door when they knocked. The stranger turned out to be a newly moved in neighbor that claimed he was sleep walking (drinking tequila/partying his face off) when this occurred. Although I was not physically hurt – I felt completely violated and angry, especially since this man didn’t think it was a big deal and was furious that I pressed charges against him. Eventually my case ended up in the district attorney’s office where it slowly died. I tried in vain to reach the assistant DA that was handling my case, only to play phone tag, and to finally be told that they would not be proceeding. For six months leading up to this, I had to live next door to this weirdo while being harassed through the walls of my apartment on a weekly basis.
I spent a lot of time at C6 filing police reports that would ultimately end up as a large pile of paper in my apartment. While the detective in my case was excellent (I annoyed the hell out of him), I was left confused as to why the DA’s office would just let it go, as if this man had done nothing wrong. He was able to come into my apartment uninvited, waltz into my bedroom, and harass me without consequence. How was this possible? I had never fully understood why people (especially females) didn’t report crimes, but now I had a direct insight into why.
It took a while to move on from this experience, but I do have some tips if this does happen to you:
*Be prepared to hear some infuriating things: I was told by a police officer I should “get a big boyfriend” (thanks – noted). If you’re female you will hear the sentence “single female living alone” a lot (sorry, I’m independent and live alone? #sorrynotsorry).
*If you have questions, do call the detective assigned to you – and always return their calls if they call you – they are busy with tons of cases, not just yours.
*If you run into the person/people that broke in do not start screaming at them or beat the hell out of them (tempting I know). This will only get you arrested which is not a good look.
*Keep copies of any/all police reports relating to your case – you may need them later. And lastly ….
*Be your own advocate- no one can stand up for you the way you can. Don’t be satisfied with being victimized.
Be safe out there, Southie! Here are some other helpful tips!
Kristen McCart is a 30 something Southie original who still lives in the neighborhood and loves being so close to her family. Kristen is unapologetically honest, but has a huge heart.
Step 1: Lock your doors at night. We live in a city.
Step 2: Step into law enforcement’s shoes for just one second. You’re is claiming a man was in your room. There is no evidence aside from your own, eye witness account. There are murders, rapes & other violent crimes that need sorting out. Deaths, tragedy, etc.
Step 3: Don’t denounce law enforcement unless they truly did you wrong.
Step 4: If you absolutely have to share this experience to the public on the internet, don’t put your name on it. Not a great look Ms. McCart.
Dear Anonymous Troll:
Step 1: My door was locked (thanks for asking). I know where I live – perhaps you don’t
Step 2: I didn’t claim a man was in my apartment – he admitted it, he lived next door and was identified
Step 3: Did you even read the article? I said the detective in my case was great.
Step 4: I’m fully happy to put my name on this – no need to be anonymous. What’s really not a good look is you posting anonymously with no photo or name since you don’t want me to know who you are LOL
It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! Magazine. Salt n Pepa and heavy D up in the limousine,
Wow! I’m sorry but this idiot is probably a creep themselves and does the same thing. Or you are a salty cop that has no care for women. Hmmmm? Go away troll!
This idiot NSNTTH has something negative to say about every article on here and is always complaining about Maureen. Can you block his IP address? This is probably the same person reporting every double parked car in Southie on BOS311 and crying about no bike lanes.
Shaming someone for reporting illegal activity and for promoting non-vehicular transit? Go kick rocks, Ryan.
Get a life bro ur probably a yuppie
He is 100% a yuppie that heard someone say go kick rocks one time when he visited Tom English’s because the lines at Lincoln were too long.
He’s what makes people hate yuppies!
Not So New to the Hood is the quintessential definition of an Internet troll. He posts on almost every topic on this site and it’s always negative. He complains about every single thing. I disagree about his age and status; I do believe that he is NOT a yuppie. If he was, he wouldn’t have time to troll every single article; instead he’d be at Stats, Lincoln, or Loco, with a beverage in hand. He is a grumpy POS that probably lives off L, K, or M street and is bitter that his wait at the Boston Bagel Company is 30 minutes do to all of hungover yuppies. Anyways, great story, and be safe, Southie!
But how could a non-yuppie even be an internet troll.? That wasn’t a thing back then.