Observations about JJD's house, 11-01-18
Nov 1, 2018 21:23:15 GMT
riverstorum, almagata, and 10 more like this
Post by Alex on Nov 1, 2018 21:23:15 GMT
Hello all,
I've wanted to drive by JJD's former house in Citrus Heights for a while now, but never did because it wasn't nearby for me. I live in Sacramento, and although Citrus Heights is in the area, it's a good 25 minute drive from most parts of the city. But today I got out of a meeting early and was driving around with an extra hour to spare, so I decided to head over.
As a disclaimer: Almost everything I say below is speculation. I have no direct knowledge of JJD, his case, his family, friends, or neighbors. I'm just a guy in Sacramento who wasn't even very familiar with the case until after JJD was arrested. But ever since then, I've had a morbid curiosity. I guess we all do. That's why we're here.
Neighborhood
The first thing I noticed when entering the neighborhood was how eerily peaceful it was. As you drive into the subdivision, it's shrouded by enormous trees and far removed from traffic and congestion that you'd find in other parts of the region. Most of the homes are single story, which was not a detail lost on me. The community he lived in looked like the ones he frequently targeted for his crimes.
Car in driveway
There's a blue Subaru parked in the driveway that's in pretty bad shape. The windows are busted out and flanked in plastic. The front bumper is hanging off and part of the car's body is removed. I don't remember seeing a Subaru in the photos from April. I was wondering if that's his car and it had already been towed away by the time news media got there. I really wanted to get closer and examine the paper hanging from the windshield, but didn't feel comfortable setting foot on the property.
Beware of Dog sign
The red and black Beware of Dog sign is gone from the side fence by the garage. Did JJD have a dog or was that just a deterrent for burglars?
Corner rocks
The four large rocks at the corner of the house are arranged differently than they were in April. I'm guessing they were moved around and inspected for evidence.
ADT sign & general home security
There's a blue ADT sign by the front windows. It looks like an alarm system was added. I wonder if there were security cameras on the house. I didn't see any obvious ones. I'm curious how much JJD worried about security.
Non-violent crime is rather common in our region. It's usually easy targets like car break-ins and home burglaries during the day when the owner isn't home. As a result, it's common for homeowners to at minimum have a Ring doorbell installed. A lot of people have Nest cams or equivalents too. I couldn't see any on his house, but that doesn't mean they weren't there.
I checked the crime maps for his neighborhood and it looks like car break-ins are common. There were two car break-ins in March, right around the corner from his house. That would be around the time he was being heavily investigated. It makes me wonder if the burglar crossed paths with the undercover investigators. I also wondered what JJD would have done if he caught the burglar prowling the neighborhood. I doubt he would bludgeon the burglar in the middle of the street, but I'm guessing he would have made some pretty intense threats.
Window air conditioner
The air conditioner has been removed from the window. It was there in April. I'm kind of surprised he didn't have central A/C. It can get up to 110 degrees or more during the summer here. If you're a fan of the TV series Dexter, you'll know why I find the window A/C to be so interesting. But I doubt JJD hid anything in his unit.
Front lawn
The lawn is still green and meticulously maintained. That was surprising because green grass is not native to California. To give you context, it's rained once here in the past 6 months. If your lawn is green, it's because you water it regularly. So that made me wonder who's paying the water bill to keep it maintained and who's mowing it and making sure it's free of weeds. I was expecting the lawn to be dried up and haggard after a long, hot California summer.
Other notes
Other than satisfying my own curiosity, I didn't learn much viewing his house from the outside—not that I expected to. It's a house that looks like any other house you'd find in a sleepy American neighborhood. Standing in front of it did give me an overwhelming feeling of the creeps, but only because I knew he'd lived there.
It's not just the house, but the overall neighborhood that really paints a picture. It's seems so peaceful and safe. It gave me insight into what the other neighborhoods must be like where he chose his victims. Driving through the quiet streets lined with tall trees and nicely manicured lawns, I understand why residents were shocked when such a violent crime wave took place in similar communities. I can imagine them saying, "Nothing like this has ever happened here before." And it's true. I can't imagine anything bad ever happening in neighborhoods like that.
I've wanted to drive by JJD's former house in Citrus Heights for a while now, but never did because it wasn't nearby for me. I live in Sacramento, and although Citrus Heights is in the area, it's a good 25 minute drive from most parts of the city. But today I got out of a meeting early and was driving around with an extra hour to spare, so I decided to head over.
As a disclaimer: Almost everything I say below is speculation. I have no direct knowledge of JJD, his case, his family, friends, or neighbors. I'm just a guy in Sacramento who wasn't even very familiar with the case until after JJD was arrested. But ever since then, I've had a morbid curiosity. I guess we all do. That's why we're here.
Neighborhood
The first thing I noticed when entering the neighborhood was how eerily peaceful it was. As you drive into the subdivision, it's shrouded by enormous trees and far removed from traffic and congestion that you'd find in other parts of the region. Most of the homes are single story, which was not a detail lost on me. The community he lived in looked like the ones he frequently targeted for his crimes.
Car in driveway
There's a blue Subaru parked in the driveway that's in pretty bad shape. The windows are busted out and flanked in plastic. The front bumper is hanging off and part of the car's body is removed. I don't remember seeing a Subaru in the photos from April. I was wondering if that's his car and it had already been towed away by the time news media got there. I really wanted to get closer and examine the paper hanging from the windshield, but didn't feel comfortable setting foot on the property.
Beware of Dog sign
The red and black Beware of Dog sign is gone from the side fence by the garage. Did JJD have a dog or was that just a deterrent for burglars?
Corner rocks
The four large rocks at the corner of the house are arranged differently than they were in April. I'm guessing they were moved around and inspected for evidence.
ADT sign & general home security
There's a blue ADT sign by the front windows. It looks like an alarm system was added. I wonder if there were security cameras on the house. I didn't see any obvious ones. I'm curious how much JJD worried about security.
Non-violent crime is rather common in our region. It's usually easy targets like car break-ins and home burglaries during the day when the owner isn't home. As a result, it's common for homeowners to at minimum have a Ring doorbell installed. A lot of people have Nest cams or equivalents too. I couldn't see any on his house, but that doesn't mean they weren't there.
I checked the crime maps for his neighborhood and it looks like car break-ins are common. There were two car break-ins in March, right around the corner from his house. That would be around the time he was being heavily investigated. It makes me wonder if the burglar crossed paths with the undercover investigators. I also wondered what JJD would have done if he caught the burglar prowling the neighborhood. I doubt he would bludgeon the burglar in the middle of the street, but I'm guessing he would have made some pretty intense threats.
Window air conditioner
The air conditioner has been removed from the window. It was there in April. I'm kind of surprised he didn't have central A/C. It can get up to 110 degrees or more during the summer here. If you're a fan of the TV series Dexter, you'll know why I find the window A/C to be so interesting. But I doubt JJD hid anything in his unit.
Front lawn
The lawn is still green and meticulously maintained. That was surprising because green grass is not native to California. To give you context, it's rained once here in the past 6 months. If your lawn is green, it's because you water it regularly. So that made me wonder who's paying the water bill to keep it maintained and who's mowing it and making sure it's free of weeds. I was expecting the lawn to be dried up and haggard after a long, hot California summer.
Other notes
Other than satisfying my own curiosity, I didn't learn much viewing his house from the outside—not that I expected to. It's a house that looks like any other house you'd find in a sleepy American neighborhood. Standing in front of it did give me an overwhelming feeling of the creeps, but only because I knew he'd lived there.
It's not just the house, but the overall neighborhood that really paints a picture. It's seems so peaceful and safe. It gave me insight into what the other neighborhoods must be like where he chose his victims. Driving through the quiet streets lined with tall trees and nicely manicured lawns, I understand why residents were shocked when such a violent crime wave took place in similar communities. I can imagine them saying, "Nothing like this has ever happened here before." And it's true. I can't imagine anything bad ever happening in neighborhoods like that.
