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Family Pwns Mailbox Vandals, Vigelante Style

wausaudailyherald.com — The Fisher family prefers not to think of themselves as vigilantes, even after a middle-of-the-night stakeout led to a high-speed chase and the blocking in of a vehicle until police arrived. After seeing their mailbox smashed four times in less than two weeks and a seventh time in less than a year, they see their actions as justice.

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  • lpmiller, on 02/29/2008, -3/+177I would have just filled my mailbox with cement.
    • KJeffV, on 02/29/2008, -32/+1About ten yrs ago in So Joisey, I had to add some fresh dog poop fr/my yard and to the top of recycle paper, inside the box, to keep someone fr/rifling thru it.
      • jacko7, on 02/29/2008, -1/+29FOR ***** sake. It's the same amount of characters.
        • jacko7, on 02/29/2008, -2/+28Whoops, i read it as 'for' not 'from'. Which is why you should type it out.

          Also, I'm sick of this 2 minute edit window.
          • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -1/+9Oh dammit I didn't mean to hit submit!! The inevitable countdown begins..
      • JerodSlay, on 02/29/2008, -13/+17Here in Texas, we can now use deadly for to protect property. I'd do the stakeout, but with a shotgun. When they smash it, unload into the windshield. Even if they don't die, you sure got them back, and it would be legal.

        Yes, you can even use deadly force to apprehend a criminal who has damaged your property and is fleeing. I love Texas. ***** dick heads like those 4 kids in the story.
        • ausfahrt, on 02/29/2008, -20/+16That is sick ***** man. Kill some kids over a mailbox or over destroying any property. That begs the question can they use deadly force against you for trying to use deadly force against them ... So an all out state of kill of be killed. Somehow it doesnt equate to me. Property can be replaced with money which comes and goes but life i think is more important. Texas laws are so backwards and upside down.
          • radu79, on 02/29/2008, -2/+17Hmm, I am not so sure those kids would risk their lives to have some 'fun'.
            I am sure that in states that allow you to actually defend yourself and your property there is less ***** like this going on.
          • Scheissen, on 02/29/2008, -6/+7Where are you so I can smash your mailbox?
          • Mothrog, on 02/29/2008, -3/+9Something tells me the world won't miss little ***** like that.
          • JerodSlay, on 02/29/2008, -4/+4No they can't defend themselves because the use of deadly force to defend yourself or your property is only allowed if you were committing no crime at the time and you did not provoke the crime against you. You're understanding of the law, society, and how it all works together is much more backwards and upside down than our laws.
          • jmpeagle, on 02/29/2008, -3/+8repeated destruction of property on one owner is an attempt at intimidation if not a direct threat against their life. The only way to protect yourself is to hunt them down and shoot them.
          • Mothrog, on 02/29/2008, -3/+2"No they can't defend themselves because the use of deadly force to defend yourself or your property is only allowed if you were committing no crime at the time and you did not provoke the crime against you."

            How the ***** did these people commit a crime or provoke a crime?
          • radu79, on 02/29/2008, -1/+4In most of the nations, willfull (and repeated) destruction of property is a crime. It's called vandalism, look it up in your state laws.
          • ayeroxor, on 02/29/2008, -0/+4THEY'RE COMING RIGHT AT US!
        • Charun, on 02/29/2008, -8/+7wow. You sure like killing people.
        • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -4/+4WAR!
        • troye, on 02/29/2008, -6/+6See that's why the rest of the Union doesn't like Texas and the people who inhabit it, Texans.


          ***** TEXAS!!!
          • Pixelante, on 02/29/2008, -3/+3The rest of the US doesn't like Texas? Did you make it up in a fit of kiddy rage, hands wringing, mouth foaming, feet stomping? Or is it the natural result of brain damage? When you wrote "***** TEXAS", did you lose controls of your bowels and ***** your pants? Did you run around the room crying and hollering? Did you feebly kick the walls?
          • subliminalurge, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1I like Texas. And, no, I'm not from there. I'm a part of the "rest of the union" of which you speak, though.

            I am, however, strongly considering relocating to Texas. Their laws are, for the most part, more consistent with the US Constitution than pretty much any other state.
      • wellyuk, on 02/29/2008, -0/+5fr/my? eh?
      • UtOh, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2FTA: (heading under the picture) Kim is holding a paving block the family put in the mailbox to deter vandals.
        Also, 2nd time this semester that Wausau Daily Herald has made the front page!!! Yeah for Wausau!
    • RuffRidr, on 02/29/2008, -1/+112Where I grew up this is exactly how farmers would solve this problem. They would take a large mailbox and place a smaller one inside it. Between the two they would fill it with cement. Anyone that tried to take a bat swing at it from a moving vehicle would likely end up with a broken wrist.
      • GRTWHT, on 02/29/2008, -1/+133Where I grew up, one neighbor took it even further (they had stopped using baseball bats and started driving over the entire box and pole): he mounted his heavy duty steel box onto a steel pipe that was painted to look like the old wooden ones, then sunk the pipe in concrete - the next time, the paint was scratched on his mailbox, but based on all the broken glass around it, the vehicle took some big damage.
      • carpespasm, on 02/29/2008, -1/+28I had a neighbor who did the same thing, but with a steel plate insert on his box, he knew who was doing it, but had no way to prove it until he met the kid in the store one day with his arm in a sling from a "football accident".
      • InspectorGadget, on 02/29/2008, -1/+16A guy I worked with for a while welded some rebar to an already "heavy duty" mailbox. Predictably, this resulted in a compound fracture and a day in court for him. The claim against him was ultimately thrown out.
      • gypsi, on 02/29/2008, -11/+6i think it's illegal to set booby traps. ***** the vandals - just be prepared if anything comes up.
        • ricree, on 02/29/2008, -2/+42Making something more structurally sound hardly seems like booby trapping to me.
        • b33x, on 02/29/2008, -4/+2if thats the case, the all wall of all buildings must be booby trap,
          that including very clean glass doors.
        • troye, on 02/29/2008, -2/+3I wouldn't consider it a booby trap though. I would say more of thief/vandal proofing my mailbox. An innocent person would not feel the wrath of my innocent mailbox.
      • bigkatsu, on 02/29/2008, -3/+4We had a mailbox welded from scratch entirely out of 2" think iron, welded to a very thick iron pole in 2 feet of concrete. Pretty much solved the problem.
    • fkr3, on 02/29/2008, -24/+5That reminds me of the kids in Germany who made the cement soccer balls during the World Cup and left them lying around ahhaah.

      http://www.echolist.com/world/2006/july/news141904 ...
      • gypsi, on 02/29/2008, -1/+7that's something different complete. what a *****
        • Whaines, on 02/29/2008, -2/+1I know! I have fkr3 blocked and EVERY time I see his name it comes along with some negative number of diggs.
    • JigoroKano, on 02/29/2008, -1/+87I had a neighborhood where the vandals would attach a chain around the brick mailboxes to tow them off with a truck. Otherwise they would take a baseball bat to the smaller mailboxes.

      One neighbor had an excessively well constructed mailbox complete with a 10' post secured in the ground with cement. One night he heard a loud noise and came outside to find a chain tied off to his mailbox complete with rear bumper and license plate.
      • rholland356, on 02/29/2008, -12/+3Yeah. Well, with that kind of overbuilt mailbox, didn't the neighbor kids use explosives?
    • sgtpppr, on 02/29/2008, -31/+7Unfortunately, that's also very illegal. If someone were to hit the mailbox in a car accident and die, it would be on your head in court. It's the same rationale they use for making it illegal to put hidden traps on your property. In most areas, the big brick mailboxes have to be hollow for safety reasons. I can verify that one personally since I actually hit my neighbors one and it was in fact hollow (hardly even slowed me down too).
      • krakelohm, on 02/29/2008, -3/+36Stop drinking and driving.
        • sgtpppr, on 02/29/2008, -17/+4I was 16 and ran over my neighbors mailbox on the way to work in the rain. What does that have to do with DUI? Oh yeah, you're just being a douche...again.
          • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -2/+12So are you blaming it on the rain, or the fact that you were 16?
          • troye, on 02/29/2008, -0/+4No, just stop. You are wrong.
          • 1timeuser, on 02/29/2008, -1/+3LOL. you drunk.
      • beloitpiper, on 02/29/2008, -3/+27Why is it my fault if somebody hits my mailbox? I don't believe that it is illegal.
        • sgtpppr, on 02/29/2008, -16/+4Didn't say it was your fault, but it IS your property and you DID make the alterations to the mailbox. What I said was if you place a hidden hazard on your property and it causes someone harm, you can be held liable for it. If people want to rig their mailbox so if someone swerves to miss a deer and hits it only to find out it was like hitting a solid steel pole....well....it's not your fault I guess their brains are laying in the street. I know for a fact it is illegal in some states to place a 'booby trap' mailbox up if it could injure someone in a car accident. Even on private property, if you were to put those one-way-only spike strips on the ground you have to put up a big sign warning people about it. Booby trapping stuff can get you in big trouble if it causes someone harm.

          Instead of rigging your box, hide nearby and wait for them and fire a shotgun in the air when they're close. I promise you they'll think twice. Or you could always just throw a brick through their windshield. It'd probably cause less damage than putting a death trap mail box up.
          • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -1/+9Firing a shotgun is safer than cementing a mailbox? Wow, Texas is ***** up. Do that in Orrstra'ya and you're in deep ***** here. We would only laugh if some wanker smashed his car because he tried to wreck some poor bugger's letterbox. Having said that, I ceased destruction of property (many years ago) when I tried to smash a wooden-looking letterbox that must have been made of diamond because it shattered by bat and almost broke my wrists. It was still good for a laugh though.
          • RoboRay, on 02/29/2008, -0/+6So I could build an armored mailbox and I would be OK as long as I put a sign on the pole warning "Do not strike mailbox. Severe arm or bumper damage may occur." just like what's posted next to the spike strips?

            Sounds good. I'm confident any kids who get off on going around smashing mailboxes would take that as a challenge!
          • PFinn, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3@sgtpppr I accidentally clicked thumbs up for you... DIGG can i have my click back?
          • sgtpppr, on 02/29/2008, -3/+1I apologize PFinn for your loss. Apparently informing people that making their mailbox into a death trap and is illegal in many states is like saying 'Mac Sucks'. *makes a note so it doesn't happen again*
          • stabbingkittens, on 03/04/2008, -0/+1PFinn didn't miss the 'thumbs up' this time.
        • davidrools, on 02/29/2008, -0/+15I agree that someone might try to sue you for reinforcing a mailbox, but your alternatives of shooting off a shotgun or throwing a brick through the windshield are likely to get you in a lot more trouble.
    • Flashman, on 02/29/2008, -9/+3The best compromise I've seen are milk-churn mailboxes. A decent steel one will solve all of your problems: http://i.pbase.com/t6/51/57151/4/70634333.aHXlfu85 ...
      • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -0/+15Don't you know it's forbidden to do that?
    • darkciti2, on 02/29/2008, -1/+6I was going to suggest that same thing. Put another mailbox in front of your real one (maybe with a note on the front of the concrete for the postal employee (whom would probably side with you) and just wait for the punks to break an arm.

      Of course, then they'll just be pissed and do donuts on your lawn (bitchin' camaro style), etc...
      • renatoc8, on 02/29/2008, -1/+7That's why my lawn has land mines.
        • b33x, on 02/29/2008, -1/+4that poor dog that poo has no chance at all..
    • LeeSoong, on 02/29/2008, -1/+27Active Armor Mail Boxes - NEW from Raython !

      When someone attempts to smash the mail box - the outer shell of the mailbox explodes outwards with enough force to launch their car 30 feet into the air, while still protecting your valuable coupons, bills, and packages from eBay.

      Then simply remove the spent outer casing, and snap on a new Active Armor Cartridge.

      AAMB - Order Today!
      • troye, on 02/29/2008, -1/+1What's the website that sell such product?

        /I would buy one if it did exist. Nice imagination.
      • flyingmeteor, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3Link?
      • Andyschism, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Sounds like a commercial from a Paul Verhoeven film.
    • mytruckhasdents, on 02/29/2008, -17/+2i lived in alaska for a couple of years, there was a gang that went around saying they were going to ride around with their headlights off, and if anyone flashed their highbeams, they would follow 'em and kill 'em....so all of the rednecks with their shotguns went driving around with their headlights off....no incidents were ever reported. it sounded much like this: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lightsout.asp
      • AmusedToDeath, on 02/29/2008, -0/+13I have no idea what your post has to do with the article, but in any case this is complete fiction. It's a commonly known urban legend and has to my knowledge never actually happened, hence the snopes article that you yourself ridiculously cite and then claim actually happened.
      • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -0/+5You are an idiot. Did you even read your own link?

        For starters, the friggin' page title is "Urban Legends Reference Pages"

        Claim: Prospective new gang members are initiated by killing the drivers of cars who flash their headlights at them.
        Status: False.
    • gregstrander, on 02/29/2008, -5/+4Which is actually illegal and you could be held responsible if the person who hits it dies:

      "Private individuals and corporation, as well as governmental entities, may be liable for their roles in creating or maintaining highway hazards. The use of massive rigid mailbox supports such as bricks around the mailbox, heavy metal posts, concrete posts, and items of farm equipment, such as milk cans filled with concrete must not be used."
      • Scheissen, on 02/29/2008, -12/+5Who's the ***** retard you passed that law?Oh right, a libtard.
        • ganjadude4391, on 02/29/2008, -4/+7burried for baseless accusation, supply some evidence or STFU
      • Mothrog, on 02/29/2008, -0/+5Being liable for something in a civil suit is not the same thing as being illegal.
      • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -1/+3"liable for their roles in creating or maintaining highway hazards."
        HIGHWAY hazards.
        No *****. That only makes sense.
        Therefore, Scheissen - you are an idiot. Or is it too "libtard" to not want people to die at 110kph?
    • microchp, on 02/29/2008, -1/+6I have seen people do the cement and solid steel solutions. That is practical, cheap and quite simple. There was a case in Louisiana that was interesting. A guy kept having his mailbox ran over by some assclown so he replaced the pole with a 4 inch steel pole filled with concrete. The next day 2 teenagers killed themselves driving into it and he was arrested for first degree murder. I think the charges are as retarded as the chodes that removed themselves from the gene pool. Now true vigilante style would be to have a sensor in the mailbox that detects it being hit by something like a baseball bat and activate several rapid-fire .50 caliber BMG's mounted on hydraulic motion sensing robot arms. (just kidding, especially at $3.75/per round)

      Perhaps a more simple thing to do around the world to break this nasty habit would be to simply make double walled mailboxes that when smashed set off a small charge that covers all surrounding objects in permanent pink paint. When Bobby shows up at school the next day nice and purdy pink, everyone will know he is the Darwin Award winner for that week. This idea could also be applied to car thieves. Place cars around cities all over the world that are high targets for theft and put purdy permanent pink fluorescent paint charges inside that detonate when the vehicle is broken in to. Jail problem solved. Car theft solved. Also makes it easy to identify the people you should stay away from. Again, just kidding. Don't do this. Really.
      • JohnFlux, on 02/29/2008, -0/+0So, what was the outcome? Was the guy found guilty?
        • microchp, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1Yes but I didn't follow the case. I'm sure it is still on some news site and in the search engines. I'll try to find it. I'm pretty sure he was screwed though. I do not recall if there was a plea bargain.
    • brakk, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2first degree murder? Seriously? Did he explicitly intend to kill these two kids?

      I call *****.
      • subliminalurge, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1Exactly. It would be perfectly reasonable to believe that his intent was only to damage their car. In order to get a conviction on first degree murder, the prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his intent was actually to cause their death.

        Involuntary manslaughter is about the most serious charge that should have been able to stick to this guy. And even that would be a serious miscarriage of justice, IMHO.
        • Cerebral, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1That or he had the public defender for his defense.
  • cowsgonemadd3, on 02/29/2008, -5/+37Just simply set up a night vision wireless camera system and get them on tape. Or stay up yourself with a paintball gun and shoot them when they get out. Then track them down and report them. Then get your ticket for shooting them and protecting your property lol.
    • mywhitenoise, on 02/29/2008, -7/+7Yeah.....that's practical.
      • carpespasm, on 02/29/2008, -3/+6in states with castle laws it is.
    • analogkid01, on 02/29/2008, -8/+3Or get sued for putting out someone's eye with a paintball gun.
      • darkciti2, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7That's when you aim for the car. I had a neighbor who would throw C batteries at kids' cars that drove to fast or with their music up too loud in the neighborhood. After a huge dent goes into your brand new mustang, you'll think twice about driving your jackass friends around.
        Just make sure you do it a few houses down from your own, so they don't know which house caused it.
        • skinkaid, on 02/29/2008, -10/+0Somebody throws a battery at my car, I'm gonna have to pull over to "discuss" it
          • Whaines, on 02/29/2008, -0/+4That's when the C batteries get chucked at you.
          • AndreiOttawa, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Have you ever been shot or hit with a crow-bar? This is how your "discussion" would most likely end
    • t0ny, on 02/29/2008, -1/+9I had a friend that put up a huge metal rod from the ground and it went into the mail box. Then put wood around it so it would look normal. Anyways some retard tried to hit it when a baseball bat going about 50mph and broke his arm in four different places.
    • AndreiOttawa, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Booby-trap the mailbox with dynamite so it blows up when hit with a bat. That will teach'em
  • DigTheDoug, on 02/29/2008, -4/+131Vigilante justice? All they did was follow the truck and call the police on them. That's probably the furthest thing from vigilante justice there is.

    And I third the filling with cement idea. A friend of mine in highschool smashed his back car window when he was hit one and the bat bounced back.
    • rosco01, on 02/29/2008, -27/+7Blocking them in is vigilante justice, buried for failure to read.
      • soupnrc, on 02/29/2008, -1/+8A friend of a friend did that with one of those metal garbage cans cause some punks kept smashing it. So they filled it up and sure enough, one night they came along and BAM... OWNED
      • darkciti2, on 02/29/2008, -1/+24No it isn't. One time a guy parked in a handicapped spot (he wasn't handicapped) and my dad parked behind him (he IS handicapped) and called the police. The guy threatened to back into my dad's car, but he didn't. Then he threatened to kick my dad's ass as the cop showed up to cite him with a $500 ticket. It was a great victory for my father - one less ***** taking up his space.

        I think people that help the police do their job are heroes - assuming that the police are enforcing the law and not corrupt assholes.

        I applaud these people for taking action.
        • troye, on 02/29/2008, -5/+2I liked your story. Now, we need to do something of that nature to save our country!
      • Ahnteis, on 02/29/2008, -0/+11Vigilante justice would be beating them with a bat. This was a citizen's arrest.
  • diggB, on 02/29/2008, -1/+51Whoa. Dustin's a big kid. Wouldn't want to be the poor dork who decided it was a good idea to smash in his family's mailbox.
    • mywhitenoise, on 02/29/2008, -0/+33I thought that was the dad.
    • diggB, on 02/29/2008, -0/+18So did I, initially. However, the photo description clearly states "Kim Fisher and her children, Maranda and Dustin." Like I said, Dustin's a big "child".
    • thebusdriver, on 02/29/2008, -0/+14he looks like hes 30
    • Jasonstech, on 02/29/2008, -23/+1I hope your are not confusing big with strong. Sure he is a big kid, big and ***** fat. My Grandma could probably outrun him. That fat lard trying his best to keep up huffing and wheezing a long the way.

      And yeah he does look 30
      • toddsayshi, on 02/29/2008, -0/+5He's big enough to kick my ass.
        • Monk22, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1size has nothing to do with winning a fight
    • beloitpiper, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7I think somebody had some beef with Dustin and instead of taking it up with him, they took it out on his mailbox.

      ..I wouldn't want to confront Dustin either.
  • seanmanseanman, on 02/29/2008, -5/+22If I was the dude in the picture, I would have just punched them in the face. Likely after that, the kids wizard wives would have come out and wanted to have sex with me.
    • razorsedge555, on 02/29/2008, -0/+16For some reason i find this an intriguing suggestion, though i have no idea what a wizard wife is.
    • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -2/+1I agree, very intriguing. +1
    • dafatkid27, on 02/29/2008, -2/+1Oh my god, grand Hot Rod reference. You just made my day, sir.
  • slightlygifted, on 02/29/2008, -10/+201. stakeout
    2. throw lit m-80 into mailbox smashing truck
    3.???
    4. profit
    • hs112186, on 02/29/2008, -3/+6no no no see what you do is take the m-80, take out the fuse and insert a piece of 24+ gauge electric wire with both ends sticking out of the m-80, attach long lengths of 10> gauge wire to both ends of the smaller gauge wire, then you just hook up the ends of the 10> gauge wire to a car battery right as the punk is about to smash your mailbox and booom. instant gratification
      • KloroFormd, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2Or you could just stick a can of red paint (lid side facing road) in the mailbox. They hit it, lid comes off and paint splatters the truck and hoodlum. Catch them red-handed.
        • gudnbluts, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2"Or you could just stick a can of red paint (lid side facing road) in the mailbox. They hit it, lid comes off and paint splatters "

          ... all over your fence, path, hedges and drive.
      • MellerTime, on 02/29/2008, -1/+5Kinda sounds like a Wil-E-Coyote solution, but I still love it.
        • skinkaid, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Wil-E would replace his mailbox with an anvil, have it drop on his foot, then fall off a cliff
      • Zizhou, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1Surely you mean red-*hooded*?
    • renatoc8, on 02/29/2008, -7/+31. Read story
      2. Refer to How Be Funny book
      3. ???
      4. Failure
    • hdberk, on 02/29/2008, -3/+3Dugg for simpsons reference
  • hdmoncue, on 02/29/2008, -1/+84Stakeout != Vigilante.
    Baseball bat to the other guys truck == Vigilante.
    • greenlight2001, on 02/29/2008, -2/+24Baseball bat to the teenage punk ass's head == SUPER Vigilante.
      • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -3/+6And justified.
      • bryik, on 02/29/2008, -0/+15Taking teenage punk`s gang on one handed== BATMAN
        • skinkaid, on 02/29/2008, -3/+1CHARLES BRONSON!
        • stabbingkittens, on 02/29/2008, -2/+1My Chihuahua is called batman.
          • gudnbluts, on 02/29/2008, -0/+5not ratmutt?
          • 1timeuser, on 02/29/2008, -0/+6or taco meat?
          • greenlight2001, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7or pisswhizzle?
          • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2@greenlight2001

            Wait.... what? Pisswhizzle?

            +1 for making me laugh after a heavy political thread.
          • stabbingkittens, on 03/04/2008, -0/+1(D) All of the above. It received a blanket in which to sleep in, but it instead chose to scratch it into a ball and ***** it. It is a most unpleasant and unsanitary thing to watch over dinner.
    • AmusedToDeath, on 02/29/2008, -7/+2What you guys don't seem to get is that by engaging in an incredibly dangerous 100mph car chase on a presumably two-lane road, he is endangering his own life, the lives of the passengers in the other car and of course anyone else walking or driving on the road with them. Would a carload of dead teenagers or some other poor family in the opposite lane have been fair justice for a smashed mailbox? You guys really scare me sometimes.
      • Ahnteis, on 02/29/2008, -1/+5That's why he stopped. RTFA.
      • BobsYourUncle, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3Carload of dead teenagers, yes. Other family in the opposite lane, no.
  • Asberry, on 02/29/2008, -0/+27Calling the cops does not make you Charles Bronson.
  • Waskonator, on 02/29/2008, -4/+7Anyone wanna buy a picture of their family???
    http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp?provider_id=303&photo ...
    Lol... wtf.
    • rosco01, on 02/29/2008, -1/+3To um.. use in your newspaper, if you're a...

      MEMBER OF THE PRESS.
    • Andyschism, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3GENERAL ERROR SAYS YOU FAIL
  • shaka776, on 02/29/2008, -7/+51Cops are full of crap. Just last week, a moving truck came in my lane and smacked the back of my truck, dented it, and smacked my sideview mirror. I called the cops, with the COMPLETE license plate number, and the cops told me, "Oh,the company could say that you pulled that number off their truck, just trying to get someone to pay for old damage. You'll never see a penny." And that was that, nothing else, tase ya' later...
    • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -6/+5Did you think that the "protect and serve" on the side of the cars meant citizens?

      Sorry, hasn't been that way in a long time.
    • bingobongony, on 02/29/2008, -6/+10Yeah...and there is no way you just made that story up.
    • sgtpppr, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7We had a break-in at our offices in a very affluent part of town (only mention it because you'd think in the rich part of town the cops would at least be semi-attentive to a robbery), called the police, and they showed up 6 hours later. The guy sat there and was rude as hell, asked what was stolen (which we listed to him), and we noticed he wasn't even writing anything down. He said the only thing we could do was write down what they stole and submit it to the sheriff's department cause they use that for crime statistics. Not even for one second was there even a hint that this cop was actually going to try and figure out who did it. No fingerprints taken, no real descriptions of what was stolen...he simply filled out a form in less than 5 minutes that an incident happened then left.

      We called the next week and they basically wanted to know if we had found the stuff or not. We said 'of course not, we're trying to find out the status of the investigation'. They simply said they filed a report and that was all they could do. Apparently, I'm in the wrong line of work. You literally don't have to do a damn thing except show up really late and do very little to be a cop in a good part of town.
    • tightscrummy, on 02/29/2008, -3/+2Well, the cops are right.
    • wakananda, on 02/29/2008, -2/+3There would have been paint scrapings to take from a collision of that sort - matching would be a piece of cake. But it would take time and money away from tazing students and housewives, kicking in doors to kill and subdue herb growers, and collecting taxes at speed traps. ***** the police.
    • 4degrees, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2you are obviously under the illusion that cops are here to help. they are there to screw (you).
  • Nathan86, on 02/29/2008, -2/+16My neighbor had the same problem. Ended up buying two mailboxes, one large and one small. He put the small one inside the large one and filled the space between the two with concrete.
    Seems to have worked, up for two years and just slightly scratched.

    I am more worried about a drunk driver or anyone for that matter accidentally hitting it with their car and having a sixty pound hunk of concrete and steel come through their windshield.
    • norman619, on 02/29/2008, -3/+23Well that would teach them a lesson would it not? I see no down side here.
    • beloitpiper, on 02/29/2008, -3/+29"I am more worried about a drunk driver or anyone for that matter accidentally hitting it with their car and having a sixty pound hunk of concrete and steel come through their windshield."

      I'm not. Drunk drivers have it coming to them.
      • MisterWhite, on 02/29/2008, -3/+5What about some other driver that hits the mailbox while avoiding the drunk driver who has drifted into the oncoming lane?
        • brakk, on 02/29/2008, -1/+4When you drive off the road, for whatever reason, you have to expect that there might be hazards. You also can't protect everyone from every hypothetical situation.
  • saphyrre, on 02/29/2008, -6/+12Got a shotgun?... it's easier that chasing 16 old retards on freeway.
    • norman619, on 02/29/2008, -1/+4But not as fun.
      • bryik, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2Not really.
        • stopbrorape, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2the angry parents, trial, and jail time wouldn't make it easy.
      • Soave, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Shotgun vs trailing someone in a car? You need to re-evaluate the idea of 'fun.'
        • KingGorilla, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2trailing someone in a car with a shotgun
  • br0kenbenji, on 02/29/2008, -1/+3Oh, hmm, It wasn't the guy I thought it was. I work with someone who does this stuff...stakes people out that vandalize his stuff. He even has I-Red cameras set up.
  • TomKarpik, on 02/29/2008, -1/+21Wouldn't it have been nice to fill it with volatile explosives? What a smashing good time! :-D
    • norman619, on 02/29/2008, -1/+5Filled with glass and nails? Sounds like a blow out of a prty to me!
    • bizkit00, on 02/29/2008, -0/+9that wont look weird to the mailman....
  • amigabill, on 02/29/2008, -1/+28I heard a story about someone that filled their mailbox and post with concrete after theirs was smashed a bunch of times. Next time around the kid broke his arm while swinging the baseball bat. They tried sueing over the broken arm, but lost.
    • radu79, on 02/29/2008, -0/+15If that's true, i hope they sued back for a frivolous law suit, harassment, damaging the property and whatever else a lawyer can find.
      • Arramol, on 02/29/2008, -0/+12A vandalism charge should've been easy to stick too, since the very act of filing the suit over the arm sort of confirms the person's guilt.
  • sny1120, on 02/29/2008, -14/+6burried for using "PWNS"
  • Leetamus, on 02/29/2008, -12/+3jeez i wonder what they would have done if someone left a bag of flaming ***** on their doorstep? tared and feathered?
    • Scheissen, on 02/29/2008, -0/+11Wow you're a pussy. You won't even defend your own property.
    • subliminalurge, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3Let me guess, you're not a homeowner, right? You sound more like you're probably some punk kid who does this sort of thing for fun on the weekends.

      I worked very hard for a very long time to be able to purchase my home. Since then I've worked very hard to fix it up and make it a place that I can be proud of.

      I assure you, I catch you ***** with my property, you'd be much better off dealing with the cops than letting me get my hands on you.
  • notahippie76, on 02/29/2008, -11/+6That mailbox is ugly as hell. Maybe they should take seven smashings in one year as a sign that they have bad taste next time.

    Still, good story.
  • aceakm, on 02/29/2008, -5/+26Shoot out their tires, kidnap them, kill them, shave their heads, chop off their fingers, remove their teeth, and dump them in the canal/river. You'll never have a busted mailbox again!
    • JBmtk, on 02/29/2008, -1/+20I think removing their teeth is taking it too far...but other than that I think it will work
    • razorsedge555, on 02/29/2008, -5/+2yes, there's no need for mailboxes in prison.
    • credence, on 02/29/2008, -3/+3If you're going to go through the trouble of removing their teeth and shaving their heads, what you should do is find a good pig farm...
      /SnatchReference
      • girlpirate, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2***** Snatch. We got Willy Pickton now.
    • wakananda, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7This is disgusting and irresponsible! How can you suggest such a course of action to young, impressionable minds on digg, without telling them to weight the body before dumping? Shame, sir.
      • subliminalurge, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Wrap the body tightly in a section of chain-link fencing, then attach about 100 lbs of weight.

        You don't want the evidence washing up on shore. Oh yeah, take the time to dump it in a body of water a few hundred miles away. The further from the scene you travel, the less likely they'll send divers into that body of water to search for the body.

        Remember kids. Nobody goes to prison for committing a crime. People go to prison for getting caught. You have to think these things through.
  • charmaniac, on 02/29/2008, -1/+26When I was growing up, our mail box used to get knocked off many times. My mom decided to buy a larger mailbox, put a smaller mailbox inside and fill the open space with cement. I distinctly remember her telling me that she hoped that the person using the bat to hit our mailbox would break their hand. A few months later we found our mailbox knocked over, and an old man who lived down the street said he witnessed the young men drive their truck into his mailbox, and then saw them drive their truck into ours. There was a loud boom, and the old guy was pretty sure the mailbox broke through their windshield.

    No broken hand, but I bet they never ran their truck into a mailbox again.
  • Jhorra, on 02/29/2008, -1/+12Really, when the word vigilante is in the description you should be able to spell it right in the title.
  • woofers07, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7what kind of vigilante stakeout was this without a video camera?
  • Ozzsanity, on 02/29/2008, -11/+5 Remember they are precious children. These are reasons why no special speed limit should be set in school zones. Children are not worth any special caution.
    • gypsi, on 02/29/2008, -2/+4i love how people shoehorn their agendas into everything in asinine ways
  • Modestexcuse, on 02/29/2008, -32/+2Here's some junk on the kids that smashed his mailbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0
    • gammamike, on 02/29/2008, -2/+4You *****. I can't believe I fell for that *****. I...I'm going to go lay down.
      • gypsi, on 02/29/2008, -1/+1like the mailbox vandals - that will learn ya for next time
      • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2Ad-block wins again!
        • Wartz, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2how do I use adblock to kill that?
          • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1Click the ad-block button, take the "select element to block" option and highlight the offending URL.

            Then on the options window, what I do is leave it so it only filters it out on digg (left side) and on the right side, I uncheck the top two boxes, and check the bottom one, so any URL matching that specific URL will be filtered, and only on Digg.
        • troye, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2Dude that is bad ass, you used ABP to block Rick. But sometimes they don't have Rick, roll, or Ashtley written on the page, so it may get past the simple word filters.
          • Whaines, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Try blocking specific URLs.
          • Wartz, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2I figured it out, you need to block the part on the blockable items list that looks like "http://www.youtube.com/get_video?video_id=oHg5SJYR ...". Make sure when you block it, you cut out the &bunchofrandomlygeneratednumbersandletters after the actual video ID.
          • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1I dont' use word filters, they're too vague. I target specific URLs.

            Granted, I have to add each one in manually, but since most of the people stupid enough to post RickRolls aren't creative enough to use more than a few URLs, it's normally really not too inconvenient.
  • stubear, on 02/29/2008, -1/+51I remember some kids doing this when I was growing up. A few kids destroyed our mailbox twice. The third time my father rebuilt it (handmade wooden mailbox) and waited outside with a shotgun until they showed up. A couple of them ran off leaving their buddy behind. My father gave him two choices: 1) He calls the cops and the kid gets a record or 2) he calls the kids parents and convinces them to have the kid come by that weekend and build a new one under my father's supervision. He took option 2 and the mailbox was NEVER touched again. Unfortunately if you try something like what my father did these days the kid will somehow become the "victim" and my father would be the one in trouble.
    • gbarger, on 02/29/2008, -0/+8That's why with each passing year it seems like there are an increasing number of ***** kids graduating high school. As a society we let people get away with everything then we excuse it being the fault of society as a whole...and you can't punish society. So, it continues to get worse.
      • dgendreau, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Oh the nostalgia for the mythical good ol' days... There were plenty of bad parents and ignorant ***** kids back in the good ol' days too.

        Dont believe the propaganda. Check the USDOJ crime statistics yourself. It is a fact that teen pregnancy and violent crime rates are much lower today than they were in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Its also a fact that the majority of today's violent or drug related crimes are committed by 30-40 year old white males, not "*****" kids.

        Regardless, yeah, I would have gone with the rock salt shells in this case. :)
    • troye, on 02/29/2008, -0/+6He should've pulled the trigger and sprayed them with some rock salt.
  • spyd3rweb, on 02/29/2008, -9/+9Sit in a damn bush with a shotgun and end it swiftly. Defend your property.
  • faskippy, on 02/29/2008, -3/+31Idiot kids did this on my street several years ago. Owner replaced post and all with cemented in iron pole surrounded by wood. Welded steel mailbox surrounded by wood. Kid hanging out window with bat while other kid drives, swings, makes contact with steel, flies out window, dies. I know kids wanna have fun, but ya gotta THINK!
    • Ozzsanity, on 02/29/2008, -5/+27If this is true it was well deserved.
      • christor, on 02/29/2008, -21/+3Really? An obnoxious teenage transgression deserves ... the death penalty. Your criminal justice ideas are interesting - maybe you should start a newsletter.
        • Ozzsanity, on 02/29/2008, -2/+19 People who set out to maliciously hurt other people deserve everything they get.
          • christor, on 02/29/2008, -4/+2A mailbox is not a person. Maliciously damaging the property of another is wrong, no question about it. But to say that one who does so at some point in life (a class that includes many, many people) deserves to die for it seems rather bizarre to me.
        • psion01, on 02/29/2008, -1/+11No, this wasn't the "death penalty" ... this was an obnoxious brat with an over-inflated sense of entitlement getting his jollies destroying other people's property and accidentally promoting himself to the choir invisible in the process.

          In other words ... karma.
          • christor, on 02/29/2008, -4/+3And I wasn't saying that the kid wasn't foolish - or that his death wasn't his fault. I was simply disagreeing with the idea that his death, if it ever really happened, was "well deserved." As stupid, obnoxious, and wasteful as this kind of conduct is, it "deserves" punishment short of death. Lots of kids do stupid things. Their deaths in the course of doing those things may be no one's fault but theirs. But that doesn't mean that I'm happy they died.
          • Acolyte357, on 02/29/2008, -2/+5His death is well deserved (if this happened), We don't need more assholes in this world.
        • Ahnteis, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7I'd have to call it a Darwin award. Don't hit something if you don't know what's in it. Even a heavy package could do some serious damage to you.
        • RobotCitizen, on 02/29/2008, -0/+11The kid killed himself. He's no different than any other Darwin Award candidate. All the homeowner did was build a sturdy mailbox.
          • christor, on 02/29/2008, -2/+1No disagreement there. The kid's at fault, and, if he was even real, would have deserved punishment of some kind had he not been killed. But that's not the same thing as his deserving death for his actions. Summary: kid stupid, kid at fault, kid deserves punishment, but kid was not "deserving of death."
          • Acolyte357, on 02/29/2008, -2/+3Kid killed, laugh at the stupid brat, don't worry about stupid dead brat causing any more problems.
    • brad3378, on 02/29/2008, -2/+9Honorable mention for the Darwin Award ?
  • newl, on 02/29/2008, -0/+9Seems pretty neat that those responsible will likely end up with a federal rap sheet now.
    • brufleth, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1The 16 year olds might get some community service but they're record will be reset at 18 probably. The 19 year old might get some permanant marks but again probably just some community service and/or a fine.
  • capiCrimm, on 02/29/2008, -18/+3So, basically if the kids are smart and keep quite no one has any proof. How do we know the people in the car at the time of the mailbox smashing are the same as the people they stopped in the gas station? They don't, and at most they kids are going to get some slaps on the hand anyway.

    Pointless. Driving over 100mph is a felony is quite a few places too. The family is lucky they didn't get pulled over.
    • razorsedge555, on 02/29/2008, -1/+9Thanks Perry Mason, you're a real credit to your profession.
      • bjornski, on 02/29/2008, -1/+10CapiCrimm(inal) is just making excuses to protect people who do ***** like he does.
  • gudnbluts, on 02/29/2008, -15/+1Why do people even have mailboxes? I moved to New Zealand, and everyone has them here. They're just an annoyance. You have to go outside to pick up your mail, if anything's delivered during the day you don't notice it 'til next day when you pick your mail up, and if you're away they just fill up. What's wrong with a letterbox in your door?
    • J3Holaday, on 02/29/2008, -0/+10Letter boxes in the door are way better in the city, but going up to each door is much too tedious in rural areas.
      • gudnbluts, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2Here it's ridiculous. I live in a suburb, and they still have them. Houses in the city have them.
    • darkciti2, on 02/29/2008, -0/+4Our postal carriers drive cars and don't walk up to doors. I live in a mega-neighborhood with over 1500 homes. It would take many postal carriers to turf this one neighborhood.

      We have 330 million people here in the USA. As nice as it would be, that's just not an option for us (yet).
      • gudnbluts, on 02/29/2008, -1/+0UK has 60 million, and it works fine.

        All that said, one thing your post made me realise is that I you're not as crammed together as the UK, so it would take more time. It's still a system that helps the deliverer at the expense of the receiver though.

        How often have you had wet mail or newspapersl? I've had them a lot more since I came to New Zealand, it's very rare in England as (a) mailboxes are less well protected and (b) they don't have porches over them.
        • subliminalurge, on 02/29/2008, -0/+1"It's still a system that helps the deliverer at the expense of the receiver though."

          Depends on how you look at it. By implementing a system that allows for maximum efficiency on the carrier's part, the recipient is more assured of regular, on-time delivery. I'd call that a benefit for the recipient.
      • tightscrummy, on 02/29/2008, -1/+1Not everyone is dumb enough to live in a "mega-neighborhood". My mail drops right into my house.
  • invisiblehat, on 02/29/2008, -22/+3What the hell does 'pwns' mean? Learn to speak english *****!
  • offspring06, on 02/29/2008, -13/+2Oh the good old days of smashing mailboxes.
    • troye, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2I'll be waiting with my automatic BB-gun next time punk.
  • adamwho, on 02/29/2008, -0/+11Vigilante style would have been sticking dynamite in the mail box, or tire spikes or hunting them down and smashing their car.
    • skinkaid, on 02/29/2008, -0/+4Leave them alone, kill their families. That'll make 'em think twice.
      • 1timeuser, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2yes, and turn them into chilly and make them eat it.
  • xbirdmanx, on 02/29/2008, -9/+4Why is this front page worthy?
    • Soave, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3Probably because people read the summary, dugg it (because it sounds like something awesome happened), read it, then didn't bother un-digging it (because it's not really "vigilante" at all).
  • Jayg28, on 02/29/2008, -10/+3I grew up in the rural midwest and my friends and I were known to smash a mail box or two from time to time. I have absolutely no explanation WHY we did it, it is just one of those things guys out there do. No one ever tried to apprehend us though we did get shot at two or three times.
    • Ozzsanity, on 02/29/2008, -2/+19Because you did not have the brains to think of anything else to occupy your time.

      Neanderthal smash smash
  • SoupsMan, on 02/29/2008, -2/+12I wish I could site the story, but Some guy had some homemade cement "bricks" he was mailing to a friend of his. has postage on it and all. He obviously wasn't mailing it, but the judge thought e was *wink wink* when the broken armed defendant came in.
  • medsuppliers, on 02/29/2008, -2/+1there are always mailbox fetish people out there, what a vandalism..
  • onionlayer, on 02/29/2008, -0/+4It's nice having a mailbox right outside your front door attached to the wall.
  • Jade10145, on 02/29/2008, -0/+9and you know what else, you damn kids get off of my lawn..
    I'm rather surprised that people still do that, I thought that was like a 1950's thing, knocking off mail boxes..
  • VinnieDaMac, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3Dustin is a beast. That's pretty dangerous what they did though. Those kids know where you live and you steak out and follow them? That takes a pretty big pair.
  • jodofashodo, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2Sam Fisher perhaps?
  • MisterFunman, on 02/29/2008, -2/+1Did anyone else read the article's title as "F-ed up family apprehends mailbox-vandal suspects"?
  • J3Holaday, on 02/29/2008, -4/+2Here's a better idea, make the mailbox into a lever that forces up tire spikes twenty feet out on both sides. Sure it's a lot of complication, but it would be worth it when you heard the tires burst.
  • lead2thehead, on 02/29/2008, -1/+16Let's be honest... that fish shaped mailbox was just asking for it.
  • hartley, on 02/29/2008, -0/+17Note to the 19 year old: You need to cut this stuff out when you turn 18.
    • bingobongony, on 02/29/2008, -1/+918? Try 13.
      • feliks2, on 02/29/2008, -4/+0no 18, because then you get in more trouble, which is why im really not that happy about being 18, i gotta watch myself now
        • bingobongony, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3No, 13. It is around then that MOST people mature to the point of not thinking that this is a good way to spend time.
    • DarkDx, on 02/29/2008, -0/+2Just like girls grow up magically boobies at 18?
      I'd say 14
  • InspectorGadget, on 02/29/2008, -0/+3The applicable tort doctrine is called "assumption of the risk", and it is your friend if you are the victimized mailbox owner :)
  • mrsatan, on 02/29/2008, -3/+3I used to do this kinda ***** when I was a kid. If it was me, I never would have gotten caught though. I fondly remember many a chase from an angry person. I became a ***** amazing driver cause of that *****. Also what kind of jackass tries to escape onto a freeway....lol. Use some tight roads and quick turns to lose them you idiots.

    The way we used to smash mailboxes was drive by with a rock and hurl it at the thing. I do fondly remember one time when a friend of mine decided it would be a good idea to use a giant metal pole to bash the boxes. It was working well until he hit one that was made from iron. He never touched another mailbox after that, the reverb ***** up his arms for days.
  • bingobongony, on 02/29/2008, -2/+2First an MS post with a $, and now PWNS? I didn't think it was possible for the average age/maturity of Digg to drop more than it had, but I guess I was wrong.
    • AuldNic, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2yep seems these days the more intelligent the reply the further it gets dug down
      • Zaneris, on 02/29/2008, -1/+1Ah! Insightful... bury.

        Your wit threatens my ego.
  • Books, on 02/29/2008, -1/+1I guess that's what you get when your mailbox looks like that.
  • Tapewormz, on 02/29/2008, -1/+2Learn to spell. Vigelante isn't a word. /troll
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