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Post by vegasjames on Oct 20, 2023 23:07:56 GMT -5
Met up with some friends to go rock hounding. We were about 55 miles from the nearest major town, then another over 5 miles out in to the desert on a dirt roads that went every which way.
We were out there collecting agates for a couple of hours when here comes two Sheriff's vehicles from 2 different counties, and they get out with their assault rifles. Long story short is there is a guy who has a history or harassing people out there. He thinks he owns all the land out there with mining claims, which he does not. If he finds people out there, he orders people off the public land, and if they refuse he has been pulling a gun on them. Well, he spotted us going out that way, but there were 4 vehicles, so a lot of people to try and illegally intimidate. So, he tried a different tactic. He called the Sheriff's department and told them there was a claim dispute and that someone in our group had pulled a gun on him even though we did not even see the guy before going out. Where we were was pretty much on the border of the two counties, so both Sheriff's departments showed up. They looked in all the vehicles to confirm we did not have any guns, and my friend who was familiar with this guy and what he had been doing called her friend to pull a post he did on one of the rock boards and texted it to her. She was able to show the Sheriff's deputies the post confirming what was going on, and they went back to talk to the guy who was waiting out on the main road.
One of our group had to leave early and called to let us know that the Sheriff's deputies had the guy, who does carry a gun held at gunpoint. Instant karma.
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ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 914
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Post by ashley on Oct 20, 2023 23:17:53 GMT -5
Thats crazy! Glad you all are safe!
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Post by Pat on Oct 20, 2023 23:33:33 GMT -5
Seeing deputies with assault rifles looking at me would make me a little nervous!!
Glad it ended well for you.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,190
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 20, 2023 23:45:06 GMT -5
That lunatic might someday tangle with the wrong guy and backfire on him in an even bigger way. Some people won't tolerate that kind of foolishness.
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 20, 2023 23:45:15 GMT -5
That's insane James! Glad it worked out...like REALLY glad it worked out! Dang!!
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pebblesky
fully equipped rock polisher
Purchased another UV mini bowl for tumbling
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,416
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Post by pebblesky on Oct 20, 2023 23:52:17 GMT -5
Wow that was terrible. It was a relief that none of you were hurt.
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 21, 2023 0:40:38 GMT -5
Have to say that the Sheriff's deputies were nice and professional the entire time. They did not come in hot as so often happens.
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 21, 2023 6:32:00 GMT -5
What a story!!! I guess that's why they always say not to go rock hounding alone. Glad everything worked out ok.
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,722
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Post by khara on Oct 21, 2023 7:01:53 GMT -5
Annoying. And if you did happen to have a gun in your possession for protection it would’ve made it harder to prove to the deputies that you we’re innocent. Imagine all the agates you missed out on while distracted by this nonsense!
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,581
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Post by Mark K on Oct 21, 2023 7:29:22 GMT -5
Annoying. And if you did happen to have a gun in your possession for protection it would’ve made it harder to prove to the deputies that you we’re innocent. Imagine all the agates you missed out on while distracted by this nonsense! You do not have to prove a damned thing. The burden of proof is on them and simply being in possession of a firearm would not be evidence of his story.
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chris1956
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2022
Posts: 1,227
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Post by chris1956 on Oct 21, 2023 7:37:19 GMT -5
Wow! Glad I havn't had drama like that.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,190
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Post by RWA3006 on Oct 21, 2023 9:35:35 GMT -5
Annoying. And if you did happen to have a gun in your possession for protection it would’ve made it harder to prove to the deputies that you we’re innocent. Imagine all the agates you missed out on while distracted by this nonsense! You do not have to prove a damned thing. The burden of proof is on them and simply being in possession of a firearm would not be evidence of his story. This is exactly correct. It behooves everyone to know their rights. Personally, everywhere I go I am armed first and foremost with a polite and professional demeanor which prevents and deescalates most problems. What my potential adversaries wouldn't know about me is I am always legally armed to the teeth with state of the art weapons and the training to be proficient with them. I've never had problems with law enforcement because I hold myself to rigorous standards without compromising my rights.
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 667
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Post by iamchris on Oct 21, 2023 10:30:10 GMT -5
Glad everyone is okay!
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,592
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Post by dillonf on Oct 21, 2023 12:20:55 GMT -5
Crazy story. Hopefully that guy will chill out.
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Post by stardiamond on Oct 21, 2023 13:08:54 GMT -5
Find any nice agates?
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 21, 2023 18:23:00 GMT -5
Annoying. And if you did happen to have a gun in your possession for protection it would’ve made it harder to prove to the deputies that you we’re innocent. Imagine all the agates you missed out on while distracted by this nonsense! Yes.
I told my friends that if the deputies should have known that if the guy's story was real then he should have been able to give a description of the person, and not the vehicles.
We did lose quite a bit of time, and decided not to go further up the mountain as we initially intended to because some of the group did hear about 4 gunshots further up. We ended up going back over to Wonderstone Mountain instead.
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 21, 2023 18:26:18 GMT -5
Yes, waterline agates, and some jaspers and petrified wood. A lot of it was smaller pieces I picked up for tumbling, but did find some good sized ones.
Then we ended up going to Wonderstone Mountain and got some really nice stuff.
When I get a chance I will wash everything and get some stuff photographed and posted.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 21, 2023 18:37:56 GMT -5
That group sure looks like a bunch of claim jumpers to me! Glad everything turned out ok. I hope both sheriff's depts. file charges against that guy for something.
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 21, 2023 18:44:58 GMT -5
That group sure looks like a bunch of claim jumpers to me! Glad everything turned out ok. I hope both sheriff's depts. file charges against that guy for something. They likely arrested him since they had him at gunpoint. Sure they were not happy about having to go out in to the middle of nowhere on a wild goose chase.
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Post by realrockhound on Oct 21, 2023 22:17:29 GMT -5
Some people are such massive tools. Dudes a coward.
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