(Post 154 of 263)
Yesterday, Sunday, I met with yet another team of investigators. It was after this that I finally started to make sense of all the levels of police response I’ve dealt with since the break-in:
1) 911 — like Canada/US (still new, not as efficient, but they’re getting the hang of it)
2) 911 dispatch sent the municipal police, beat cops who work in my neighbourhood.
3) Mérida police sent me to the state police, SSP, to do the oral statement (denuncia). I liken this to going to your local police precinct.
4) Next up were the peritos, who are forensics investigators for the state police. Their uniforms have on the back what translates to “state police crime scene forensics.”
5) Sunday, I met with folks from Ministerio Público, which I’ve come to understand is like a public prosecutors/DA’s office in the US or the Crown in Canada. From everything I’ve gathered, it’s those last folks who do the actual detective work, talking to witnesses, looking at camera foot, and finally following up on super stale Apple tracking information.
It was at this last step that I had to give a written statement. The officer asked if I could write in Spanish because he couldn’t tell me what to write. I said that I would write at the same level I spoke, and off I went. He was satisfied with what I presented. He then said that he was going to the address where my Airpods had last pinged, but that was nearly 20 hours ago by that point, very frustrating. He said he’d follow up, but I haven’t heard anything since.
My garden guy, Juan, was here yesterday and he helped me with a few temporary repairs until I can get an aluminum worker in to fix the damaged window and door. Juan knows one and promised to have him contact me. My insurance broker said that once I documented all the damage, I could go ahead with repairs and then I would be reimbursed.
Of course, I was out of cash, so once I determined that Juan did not have a bank card I could do an e-transfer to, I had to run out to Walmart to do a withdrawal at the cash register. I decided that if I was being forced to go to Walmart at the crack of dawn to buy stuff just so I could withdraw cash I shouldn’t have needed, that I was coming home with doughnuts and Benedict Cumberbatch!
There’s also treats for Bonita in this cart!
In the evening, I got the house as secure as I thought I could make it and went up to bed to sleep, but when the power went off at 1AM, plunging the neighbourhood into darkness (and setting off all the dogs), that was it, the night was shot. Like the night before, I stayed alert until about 5AM and then dozed for a few hours until I had to get to work. I had a hard start so I’m looking forward to tomorrow when I can get up when I’m ready to.
It’s amazing that I travelled all those years in the RV, often parking on the side of the road or in a store shopping lot, and slept in my truck in parking lots and this is the first time I’ve not felt safe where I’m sleeping. The house hasn’t been spoiled for me, but I’m frustrated that I’m going to have to fortify it, do things that I associate with my time in Sinaloa and didn’t expect to have to do in this neighbourhood. But it is what it is. I love my house, I love where I live, and I don’t think Mérida is any less safe than I did before. And I should note that I’m not so much worried about my physical safety, just that there could be a repeat of this type of cash grab and that the next time this happens, the thieves won’t be as thoughtful about keeping damage to a minimum and leaving my cards.
Next up, I think, is a visit from the insurance adjuster, probably tomorrow.