On Jan 9, 2010, at 9:16 AM, Mark Howard wrote:

Hi All,

We live in Black Mountain Village.

We had quite a scare last night. Cristina arrived home alone from work at 8:40PM. I was at South Coast Casino which is about 17 miles away with my son Chris and grandson Chris Junior watching a motorcycle race. Cristina drove up to the house and saw a suspicious car with two occupants parked with the engine running sitting in front of our house.

Cristina pulled into the driveway but did not get out or enter the garage and sat watching. It was a small burgundy colored sedan. She was only able to get a number “3″ and the letters VGB. It was a Nevada plate. She called me on my cellular but it was extremely hard to hear her because of the motorcycle race. The car did not move for minutes.

I told her to drive away and call the police. Even though it is a “bedroom community” there have been a few incidents in the neighborhood since the economic crisis, mostly caused by the construction workers who work in the area but live elsewhere. 

I was rushing out of the arena and remained on the phone with her. She said the car was pulling away making u-turn and drove away heading North. I continued through the casino to the parking lot to return   home. I had purposely left some extra lights on in the house knowing Cristina was coming home from work after dark.

She parked the car in the garage and entered the house. She called me back to tell me everything was OK and just then screamed and screamed at the top of her lungs. I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I was sprinting to the car and she was screaming something. I was able to get “someone is in here.” I told her to run and call 911 over and over again as she screamed.

I hung up and dialed 911 as I ran. My car was parked way, way up on the 5Th level and way, way back in the farthest corner of the parking structure and the parking structure at a large casino is huge (understand, it’s a new Porsche so I parked it in the “north forty’. Thank God I didn’t valet it for a change. My son and grandson were rushing to their car too.

The 911 operator was Metro Police and I had to be transferred to Henderson PD. I rushed home while on the line with 911. The operator mentioned they had Cristina on 911 too. I arrived and Henderson PD had the house surrounded.

The suspect fled and got away before their arrival. She could only describe him as a dark man. It was too dark outside and too light inside. The occupants in the vehicle were hard to see because the windows were tinted and it was at night.

Once the police left, my son and I checked our house very carefully and check the neighbor’s house since we knew they were out for the night. Everything was OK.

Our homes are all so private by design, no one in the neighborhood realized there were 5 police cars surrounding our house for over 20 minutes. Here’s a bit more….

When Cristina saw the man at the window behind the house attempting to get in, she screamed. He stared for a brief moment looking directly at her. The female Boxer tore out the doggy   door and the male Boxer remained at her side. The Chihuahua peed on Cristina. No blood so I guess he got lucky.

Cristina did exactly as planned. She rushed to the Master Bath and locked herself in. There are no windows and only one way in. It’s a door that opens out and to kick it in would require a bit more force since the door is framed on the inside. She got on 911 and remained on the phone with them until the police arrived and she could be convinced to meet them at the door.

I have a pistol stashed in that bathroom just for this sort of thing. Cristina is trained to use it but today we are going shooting for some practical drills and familiarity. 

I do not know your position on gun ownership but I will never surrender my guns and I will fight to keep our Second Amendment Rights. 

By the way, the Porsche doesn’t go 177 mph as advertised. My last glance at the speedometer was at 184 mph. I feel a little sorry for anyone southbound on the I-15 last night. Actually, it was empty. I only   passed three cars from South Point to St Rose which is about a 5 mile stretch.

I’ll be driving the construction sites and neighborhood looking for that car. I know they will be back. It’s the 2nd time they were here in two weeks. Two weeks ago I found some pool cleaning equipment tossed over the gate along the side of the house. I told Cristina to double check and keep the doors locked. 

I am canceling next week’s travel to Chicago. I will not leave Cristina here alone.

Mark

Mark Howard
California Wine & Spirits Company
10624 S. Eastern Avenue, Suite A-299
Henderson, Nevada 89052
U.S.A.
Tel: (702) 614-2807
Fax: (702) 947-2637