On 5:53 PM January 1, 2023, a call was received on the cell phone from a “No Caller ID”.  Not being sure who it was, no answer was made.  After the cell phone ping,  listening to the message was immediate.  The “No Caller ID” was from a Jacksonville police officer about a break-in report in what he knew as the Biltmore area.  Over time, he would learn this was also referred to as “Nanville”. Nanville is bound by Old Kings Road, Lane Avenue, Commonwealth and Edgewood Avenue. It was established somewhere around 1984.

The break-in occurred between December 29- December 31 and the thief got away with all of the lights in the house.  In other words, the robber stripped the entire house of electrical wiring and more than likely rolled it all away inside of a yellow top, also known as a recycle bin.  The police were called and a police report was made regarding the “Nanville theft”.  

The property at 5345 was once a very nice home and owned back in-the-day by the Driggers family.  As recent as last year, their names were still carved on the wooden towel rack in the bathroom and was only removed due to a remodel.

The premises had been vacant for over 6 months and listed on multiple MLS realtor sites.  The hope was to sell it quickly during this buyer’s market 2022 but up to this point, no takers.

Now, with no electricity wiring, it would be even harder to unload.  The house listing was dropped in price due to the electrical wire issue and right away investors were willing to take a look at the opportunity.

The insulation and theft mess from stripping out wires from the ceiling had not been cleaned so when a call came in to view the property on Saturday morning, January 7th at 10:00 AM, a trip with a broom, mop and trash bags to the vacant house was made.

After the clean up, and about 8:31 AM shots rang out in the neighbourhood. “Pow”, “Pow” “Pow” went the Jacksonville officers pistol with shouts… It sounded like “Police!  “Police!”  There was a skirmish and a small dog rounded the above-ground pool at the end of the road as several officers took off running after the suspect on foot.  There were four police cars, #3515, #2749, #1014 and a fourth moving too fast to see the number but all, located on the West end of the neighbourhood with one speeding toward 5345, while another went west on that same road.

Neighbors began to come out of their homes watching all of this commotion.  A young mother apparently feared with her children by her side and ran back in to safety.  To my knowledge, they did not catch the thief.

After getting my own self to safety, my girls got this text:

“I’ve been in a police shoot-out in Nanville but I’m okay.  Just letting you know.”

If you ever want to get a quick call-back from a family member just tell them you’ve been in a shoot-out. They will call right away. Oh, and if they catch the scrapper, I’ll let you know. 1-8-22

See you tomorrow,