Ogden Robbery

I would like to begin by telling you a tiny bit about my family. I am a single mother of two beautiful girls ages 7 and 1 ½ years. We live in Ogden, Utah in a home I thought I wanted to spend the rest of their childhoods in. It’s at the top of the hill, and has a large yard that really keeps us busy. We moved here believing it was a dream come true, and have been here five years now.

My daughter and I have a great love for wild horses, and would like to adopt a couple and try our hand at gentling them. We have studied the techniques extensively, and believe it is the very best way to train a horse. We have not been able to find a place close enough to our home to give them the love and attention they would need everyday, so we have not been able to do more than study so far.

A couple of months ago our house was broken into by gang bangers. I left the house at 10:33 am to go into the office. At 11:12 I received a call from my daughter’s school saying the neighbor had called because there were cops all over my house. She gave me the number for my neighbor, and I called her up. She couldn’t really give me too many details, but she gave the phone to the detective who verified my house had indeed been broken into. He told me I needed to get home as soon as possible to go though my house and verify what had been taken.

Upon arriving home, I found cops everywhere. My home completely open, my gate open as well, and my dog nowhere to be found. Everything was covered with fingerprinting dust, the black inky kind, and my bedroom had been completely ransacked. The detective thought they were looking for guns, but rebuked me when I suggested gangs. I do have guns, but we confirmed they had not found them. I have a handgun for protection, a rifle, and a shotgun. They are all properly stored, and I think the detective about crapped himself when I showed him my handgun. It is ingeniously well hidden in my bedroom.

After inspection, it turned out they only escaped with my power cord for my TV, and my broken old cell phone. The neighbors that had stopped them gave descriptions and license plates to the police, but they “Didn’t come back the way they wanted them to.” They said they were at a dead-end, and they left.

I cleaned up the house and picked my daughter up from school. I was grateful that it happened at such a time, and in such a way, that I could conceal it from her. I would hate to have her have the sick feeling of constant fear that I have in the pit of my stomach.

Later that night, a patrol cop spotted the car and tried to pull it over. The car fled from the officer, leading her on a two minute high-speed chase. The chase ended when they ran a red light at a major intersection and T-boned a small car, killing two young college students. Forever shattering the lives of two more families, and sending a community into turmoil.

The driver of the vehicle was a hardened 17 year old gang banger with a long record. The passenger was his 21 year old cousin who swears he is not a gang member, and did not rob my house. I asked him directly, and half believe him, which means one robber is still out there on the loose.

After days of research on how to help with the gang problem, and reading all the comments on ksl.com in response to the chase and the “alleged” burglary, I came to the realization that there is very little I can do to help the situation. Gangs will continue, no matter how much of myself I give to the problem.

I am trapped here, in this home (which is not in gangland, but straight up the hill from it), and fear for the safety of my family. I work from home and can do that anywhere, but the market the way it is, I would not be able to sell my house.

I want very much to move to Idaho, and honestly have wanted to for quite some time. I always thought it would be a retirement move for me. Given the current circumstances, I would like to make that move now.


This home would make our dreams come true. It’s far enough away from the cities and the crime that come with. It is beautiful, and surrounded by beauty. There is room for us to adopt the wild horses we dream about.

I would have no problem moving my job to Idaho, so paying the bills with the home and the horses would be no problem. My only problem would be selling my home, and the solution is very simple. I would pay it forward.

If you make our dreams come true by believing we would be the right fit for this wonderful home, I will hold same essay based contest for whom to give our home to.
Perhaps this will start a trend of making dreams come true.