My Law Enforcement career included various assignments. After nearly a decade working undercover as a Vice cop, I transferred to the Robbery Bureau. The perps were not the big names of Organized Crime figures, but their evil doing was just as impactful.

How about the 12 year old kid who with his partners knocked off a series of all-night stores and gas stations in across two South Florida counties while armed with a couple of shotguns. The oldest of the group was 17. At three in the morning, my partner and I were eating “lunch” and witnessed the crew fleeing from a gas station across the street. Leaving my delicious chicken wings on the table (my partner left his French onion soup and fried clam strips), we jumped in our unmarked vehicle and gave chase for miles down the Palmetto Expressway and into Pinecrest near the area of the infamous FBI shootout of 1986. After crashing their car into ours, we jumped out and took them down before they could gain their senses.

Turned out the 12 year old was charged with murder at nine. “Ohhh… but he’s just a child!” Yeah, right!

I handled a few home invasion robberies over the years, and the modus operandi ranged from kicking in doors, knockin and sockin, driveway ambushes and into the house, and climbing through windows.

I offer several cases I worked in this episode. And unfortunately they can only be told in a graphic way. There’s no other way to describe these stories.

Just know this! It doesn’t happen to everyone but it can happen to anyone. So, be careful and mindful of your surroundings … even around your home sweet home!