Westside Story – Peeping Bartholomew

My title, Westside Story – Peeping Bartholomew, seems a little off the mark. Here is the deal. Traditionally, my title should have read Westside Story – Peeping Tom.

I chose to not use the title, Peeping Tom because I have several friends, named Tom.

I do not wish to fall into the societal convention of using the term Peeping Tom and thereby insult my Tom friends who are not even Gawking Toms.
I know what I am talking about when it comes to micro-name-hurt (New word found in Joe Boyle Dictionary). My name is Joe Boyle. Using the term, Peeping Tom is like saying Joe Blow.

Oh boy, hearing Joe Blow hurts. When I make a phone call, I have learned that I must introduce myself as Joseph. Joseph can seem a bit highfalutin. Conversely, the name Joe Boyle triggers a computer-like response where the human mind auto-corrects Joe Boyle making it Joe Blow. People hang up on Joe Blow, thinking crank call. People do not return phone messages to Joe Blow.

With my micro-name-hurt explanation above, you should now understand why I use the terminology, Peeping Bartholomew. I do not know any Bartholomew’s. If I gain a Bartholomew as a friend, I will change my terminology to Peeping Egbert.

We can now get to the main point of my Peeping Bartholomew column. I feel the need to tell you that on September 17, 2020, at around 10:48a, a female victim reported that a Peeping Bartholomew was on her Lakewood property looking in her windows. She called her husband at work, who responded back home like he was shot out of a cannon. Apparently, our community hero does not like anyone victimizing his wife and children, which may be a novel concept to the Peeping Bartholomew.

The incident occurred in the general area of Clover Park High School near Gravelly Lake Drive and Clover Creek down off Meadow Road SW.

Upon the husband’s arrival, he did what police call an area check. After spotting the suspect, he gave chase catching up to the culprit as they ran into what usually is a peaceful neighborhood.

The two men got into a yelling and finger-pointing match in the cul-de-sac at the end of a private road. Actually, the two were on a second victim’s private property just off the roadway.

The suspect told our hero that he lived in the house they were arguing in front of. That was a lie. I bet this Peeper would lie to the police too.

The suspect then broke away running through the second victim’s property towards Clover Creek. Acting just like a felon, he ran through the shallow creek water and up onto the creek bank on the other side. Once on the other side, he trespassed at full speed through a third victim’s private, fenced, and gated yard, startling the female occupant in the process.
Our Lakewood Peeper demonstrates a key reason why I could never be a felon. I would not want to wreck my shoes in an escape attempt by running through creek water.

At this juncture, we do not know if this window shopper was looking for a voyeuristic view of a scantily clad female heading for the shower, an unhealthy fetish with children, or as the felons say, to case the joint for a burglary.

To help keep you safe I wish to do two things.

1. Share some target hardening, crime-fighting tips.
2. Provide you with a description of the Peeping Bartholomew.

TIPS TO HELP YOU BE VIGILANT AND SAFE:

1. Watch your surroundings – 360 degrees.
2. Keep all doors locked whether inside or outside in the yard. (house, garage, and storage buildings).
3. Store cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and lawn mowers in a locked garage.
4. Lock your car in the garage and set your car alarm. While some may consider setting a car alarm in a garage, an overkill, and a sign of paranoia, how hard is it to set the car alarm? Modern car alarms with an engine kill make it difficult for a burglar to run off with your car loaded with your valuable possessions.
5. DO NOT BE HESITANT TO CALL 911. A lot of citizens, including me, can be hesitant to call 911. “I hate to bother them.” It helps if you have thought about when you should call and what you can say to 911 in advance.

Industrious cops love to respond to citizen’s 911 calls for service. IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING BY CALLING 911. Citizens can serve as the eyes and ears for our police, and together, we can prevent crime.

If we spot something suspicious that is happening right now, CALL 911 right now. A suspicious person or activity is all we need to call 911. We do not have to wait until we confirm we are witnessing a heinous crime.

Criminals enjoying three hots and a cot inside jail cannot victimize us. Some citizens complain we have locked up too many of our citizens in jails and prisons compared to other countries. These same citizens complain about the racial imbalance of our jail populations.

I say as long as the occupants inside our jails and prisons, regardless of race, are there because they committed a crime, leave them there. We need to build more jails so we can warehouse scofflaws. Keeping them in prison will save us money in the long run as crime plummets. Americans should not be hesitant to be a world leader when it comes to building more prisons and locking up more criminals than any other country in the world.
Our American jails and prisons are the epitome of equal opportunity regardless of race or gender. As Robert Blake in his TV role, Baretta often said, “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”

PEEPING BARTHOLOMEW SUSPECT DESCRIPTION & PHOTO:

Suspect photo Credit – Victim security camera.
White male
Height: 5′ 10”
Weight: 180 pounds
Hair Color: Unknown/clean cut
Facial hair: Goatee
Clothing: Black ball cap/straight brim / red center logo, white T-Shirt, black athletic pants with three thin white stripes down each leg side, possibly Adidas brand, black large lens glasses, and white tennis shoes.
The individual seemed to be intoxicated or high on drugs. His speech was slurred.
The individual did not appear to be homeless.

PEEPING BARTHOLOMEW HELPFUL TIPS:

#1: If you do not want your suspect photo for all to see, stop trespassing and window peeping and you shall remain free.

#2: This chalk is for you to help police by making a chalk outline where ever you land, should you become a physical threat and drop dead right where you stand.

CITIZEN TIP: IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING, BY CALLING 911.