Suspicious knock and sad story at locked screen door.

[Forest]

I had my front door open but with the screen door locked tight this morning when I heard someone knock on the screen door and ask whether anybody was home. When I got to the door, a 25-35 yr. man called me “Sir” and said his car (a yellow 1970s muscle car) had run out of gas in the no-parking zone exactly across the street from my screen door, and could I loan him some gas. He was polite and sounded very sincere, but left after I told him there was a gas station just 2 blocks down the road and that I would be calling the police.

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[Irukandji]

What neighborhood or intersection?

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[Forest]

Irukandji –

In the vicinity of Hiawatha Park, a few blocks south of all three gas stations on Admiral Way.

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[charlabob]

I’m confused (not confrontational ;-)) You were calling the police because someone knocked on your door and politely asked to borrow gas? Did the police come? Did they tow his car? Did he get IN his car and drive away? This is like one of those mystery stories that continues next week …

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[Bonnie]

What did he do to get the police called on him?

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[charlabob]

@bonnie yes, that too.

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[Forest]

I’ve had a few separate experiences with Seattle friends who were the victims of daylight burglaries. In each case, the burglar turned out to be a regular fella with a habit of knocking on front doors that appeared to be unlocked, then offering a sincere and sad story about being lost if someone happened to answer the door before he could turn the knob. Call me heartless, but I wasn’t willing to believe the sad story from this morning’s polite stranger who explained that he just happened to run out of gas in the NO PARKING zone directly across the street from my open-looking front door.

I may have wrongly judged the guy (except for his illegal parking), and I didn’t call the police about him, but I have posted on WSB forums to alert anyone else who hears a knock on their door and a cover story about needing gas.

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[dhg]

Many years ago I lived in a townhouse on cap hill. On a hot summer evening, I had the door open for air and suddenly someone is standing there. He tells me that his daughter is at harborview and he was rushing to her but he ran out of gas and if he could just borrow $10 bucks he’d pay me back later. I fell for it. I said sure and I pulled out my wallet. As I opened it, i was aware that he was eagerly leaning forward. Then, I saw I had just a $20 bill and I said, “Oh, sorry.” because I’d no intention of giving him $20 but his face changed. I could see on his face that it changed from success to suspicion that I was playing him. At that moment, i realized I was being played and shut the door. A couple of other people have tried this game with me since then and I’ve laughed in their faces.

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[Blend]

Who just lets their car run outta gas? There is a little thingy in all cars that tells you how much gas you have and if you are low you better bring some money. And if you happen to run outta gas…call a friend..someone who knocks on a random door is suspicious. You walk home or call a friend, don’t go to someones door. I don’t answer my door if the person hasn’t called ahead. There are just too many random people knocking on doors these days. And if you have your door open with a screen door, then maybe hanging a big sign in the middle of it that says, “please call first” or something that would tell someone to take a hike. I know it’s cold but people should not be allowed to show up at our door unannounced. They should respect our space and our privacy. Maybe even get a front gate that locks so they can’t even get in the front yard. It’s too bad we have to do this but the bad seeds in the world have ruined it for the rest of us.

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