From:
Susanjaquet@aol.com
The homeless gentleman in question made some of the neighbors I spoke
with feel uncomfortable, although one felt that he was harmless. He
certainly made me feel uncomfortable as he was just always lurking
around the house I was selling. It is possible that he was actually
living in my client's garage. Every time I went to the house, there
he was. Once I opened the garden gate to walk into the alley, and he
was inches from me, just leaning against the garage (3800 block of
Warren). Other times he was peering eerily over the tall back fence.
I meant to put the police on alert prior to my Sunday afternoon Open
House because I felt uncomfortable. However, I was busy and didn't get
around to calling. It was a rainy afternoon, and a few visitors went
out to see the garage. They came back inside and cheerfully reported
that they had met the "owner."
What was unsettling was that when he spoke, he was articulate and
credible and appeared lucid. However, since he was clearly delusional,
one wonders where the border between "harmless" and "dangerous" lies.
I felt that since he believed the house belonged to him, he could
come inside and aggress me for trespassing on "his property."
Furthermore, if he were not only delusional but also paranoid, the
admonition from the police to stay away from that house would mean
nothing.
Personally, I believe this homeless man could pose a threat, and that
is the message we need to share with neighbors. One would like to give
every human being the benefit of the doubt, but when erratic behavior
is involved, it is safer to err on the side of caution.
Sincerely,
Susan Jaquet