I believe my roommate is mentally disabled

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Shooby_IHB

Shooby_IHB

New member
I've been living with this guy for about a year, and he's always pretty much kept to himself.



then this weekend he started acting really strange, like he was drunk but he wasn't. he mentioned that he hadn't slept in 5 days. then last night, he was on the phone, joking about how he was ready to move out and kill someone, because and I quote: "i have already killed someone, remember the mental institution? it was a party in there, all the girls were buckwild"



Thank God he had already gvien me notice to move out, he's out next week. But as soon as I heard that, I left and am staying at my girlfriend's place. I ran a criminal check on him, and it's clean. but who would joke about stuff like that?



Troop, any advice here is appreciated.
 
Sounds like he might be bipolar and in a manic phase. You were smart to temporarily leave. It could be that he's been on his meds all this time and has now gone off of them, hence the strange behavior.



The only way he will get help (if he's manic, he won't believe for a second that anything is wrong with his behavior or thinking) is if he is a danger to himself or others. If he is, or if he starts trashing the place, call the cops. Don't try to do anything yourself.
 
Coincidence?



<a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/3043/">http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/3043/</a>
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1222211176]I've been living with this guy for about a year, and he's always pretty much kept to himself.



then this weekend he started acting really strange, like he was drunk but he wasn't. he mentioned that he hadn't slept in 5 days. then last night, he was on the phone, joking about how he was ready to move out and kill someone, because and I quote: "i have already killed someone, remember the mental institution? it was a party in there, all the girls were buckwild"



Thank God he had already gvien me notice to move out, he's out next week. But as soon as I heard that, I left and am staying at my girlfriend's place. I ran a criminal check on him, and it's clean. but who would joke about stuff like that?



Troop, any advice here is appreciated.</blockquote>


Background checks are notoriously unreliable, especially if the subject has moved around a lot or has a common name. Also, many laws such as FCRA, HIPPA, etc limit the scope and use of background checks so you may not be getting the complete picture. When you come back from your gf to see your roommate off next week, make sure you are packing your gat and wearing a minimum Level IIIA vest.
 
Shoob, that's scary sh*t. Leave, and stay gone. If you have to go back, make sure to bring another male along with you. Tell him you've already arranged for another roommate to move in so he can't back out. If behavior/statements continue, contact local PD for assistance. He may fit the criteria for a 72 hour hold due to instability/danger to self or others.



R U sure it's not a meth binge?
 
Given how much time IPD has on their hands, I'd probably walk in and report it anyway. They are the professionals, so my inclination would be to give them the info and let them act on it or not at their discretion.



Troop - I was thinking meth, too. :(
 
Thanks for the advice.



I tried looking in his room while the door was open, and found no evidence of drug use. I'm just waiting for him to move out so I can rekey the doors. Anyone got a locksmith that can do that?



I'm thinking I should reprogram the garage door transmitter as well, don't want to take any chances.



I don't think its meth, I believe it's a mental disability, since he just told me he gets disability, and mentioned bi-polar.



You should see it, there's a golf club in my bedroom area now. hahaha
 
All locksmiths can rekey .. even some handymen can do it. Just call someone up and ask them to do it. If you have another key of the same brand, they can key the door to that existing key too.



If you can't find someone, my dad can do it :)
 
You don't need a locksmith. You can go to any hardware store and buy a kit to rekey the locks yourself. They are inexpensive and easy.
 
Really Shoob, get out of there. We had an Officer Involved Shooting last year in Hollywood due to just this type of scenario. The roomie went a little bonkers for about a week, then decided to walk into the other bedroom and stab his roommate. Roommate ran outside, called PD.....we arrived a couple of minutes later and dumped the guy when he attacked us with a 12" butcher knife (Moral of the story ? Don't bring a knife to a gunfight)



Eva is probably right, you should report this anyways. Columbine happened after all these little warning signs were missed. It just happened again in Finland two days ago.



Don't underestimate mental illness.
 
Your roomie reminds me of <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jun/30/local/me-slasher30">this guy.</a> Remember the murders at Albertson's on Irvine Blvd.? This guy was my grocery-bagger for a long time. He was definitely a "different" kind of person that I won't forget. However I must say - your roomie sounds like he's high on something. I find it hard to believe he could stay awake for 5 days without being on uppers of some kind. If you were to take what he said at face-value then technically he has admitted to a crime (they just haven't found the body yet possibly.) I'm sure you would feel bad if you read in the paper that he went and killed someone after moving out so use your knowledge to tip the police then they can take it from there. We don't want any menaces to society crawling around. Let us know what happens.



P.S. - Just because his record came up clean doesn't mean he couldn't be wanted for something, right? Maybe they have DNA on file and he would be the missing piece to a puzzle in some case.
 
That point has come across my mind, that if I don't say/do anything, what if something happens to someone? On the other hand i'm thinking, well he's out in a week, so maybe when he moves to LA everything will be ok....at least i'm trying to tell myself that.



The other night, he came up the stairs in sunglasses (note, the other NIGHT) and wearing his headphones. He did this twice, and each time he left the kitchen and hall light on. I went over and shut it off when I saw it was still on, and then later, same thing, it was left on again.



Although he hasnt' really done anything yet, I thought you can't really do anything based on words alone.



I did talk to him today, and he seemed a little more normal, even told me about how he had a mental breakdown, getting disability, having bi-polar. etc.



I hinted that I would be showing the place this weekend, and he even understood by saying "oh i'll be out before the end of the month"



Man, all sorts of people can be found on craigslist.
 
You should ask for his forwarding address - make up an excuse like you can forward mail to him that gets misdirected to your place or something. Then when he's gone go look for his hairbrush and take some hair out of it and give it to the police for DNA. You said he said:<em> "I already killed someone." </em> If you get this info they can run dna check against anything they find in the database and they'll know where he currently is after moving out. I don't know anyone who has said they've killed someone - it's not a typical phrase thrown around. It's not the same as saying, "If you open your Christmas gift early, I'm going to kill you!"
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1222324221]That point has come across my mind, that if I don't say/do anything, what if something happens to someone? On the other hand i'm thinking, well he's out in a week, so maybe when he moves to LA everything will be ok....at least i'm trying to tell myself that. </blockquote>


And if not, could you live with yourself? It can't hurt to have a little discussion about your roommate with the cops, for your possible safety and perhaps someone else's. At the very least, this way he'll then be on their radar.
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1222324221]That point has come across my mind, that if I don't say/do anything, what if something happens to someone? On the other hand i'm thinking, well he's out in a week, so maybe when he moves to LA everything will be ok....at least i'm trying to tell myself that.



The other night, he came up the stairs in sunglasses (note, the other NIGHT) and wearing his headphones. He did this twice, and each time he left the kitchen and hall light on. I went over and shut it off when I saw it was still on, and then later, same thing, it was left on again.



Although he hasnt' really done anything yet, I thought you can't really do anything based on words alone.



I did talk to him today, and he seemed a little more normal, even told me about how he had a mental breakdown, getting disability, having bi-polar. etc.



I hinted that I would be showing the place this weekend, and he even understood by saying "oh i'll be out before the end of the month"



Man, all sorts of people can be found on craigslist.</blockquote>


Man... there is something to be said about street smarts, even if you got them the hard way.



Troop can back me up on this:



When you said he was up for five days, I immediately thought he was a tweeker (meth addict/speed freak). Now that you say he was wearing his sunglasses at night (insert bad 80s song here), then I know he is a tweeker. Like Troop said, you should report the guy. He is mostly likely full of [strike]shit[/strike] speed, but he could be telling the truth. You never know with a tweeker.



It's a good thing you got out. You never know what meth will do to a person. I know, I remember someone stealing a car from the high school parking lot to score some crank. BTW, this was good school that was similar to Irvine.
 
So here's what happened last night....



I went home to make sure my house was still in tact. He had told me he lost the garage opener and called me to ask if i had rekeyed the front door cuz his key wasn't working. Um, ok.



Then he calls me and tells me that some stuff has been going on with his family, and that I needed to call the guy who lost the transmitter and get money from him. Already I was like, wtf?



Then he said he wasn't feeling stable and his hands were shaking. So I got the number to his sister and gave her a call. She came over and I told her I would refund his deposit but he had to get out of the house tonight. So she went in and convinced him to pack up his things and leave, and that they will come back this weekend to pick up his furniture.



I held on to the deposit to make sure they come back, but at this point there are more important things than money. I was under the impression his sister would take him to her house to keep an eye on him, however he called me later and said thanks for leaving me homeless mother#$3$. Then he called me 14 more times throughout the night leaving me voicemails, saying god damn you, #$#@ you, i'm gonna start at your work and your gf's work, that he's suing me for $1,000 (i made him sign an agreement to release me of liability)



Anyway, I'm contacting Tustin PD today to see what options I have, but I already changed the locks and reset the garage transmitter.



I'm going to work with his sister to get him his stuff and his medications asap.



To be continued...
 
Oh my gosh, Shoob. You are doing the right thing contacting the police. I would say have him make an appointment to pick up his furniture / rest of his things and have a police escort waiting at your house when he comes - for your safety. (Or, if he can't keep an appointment since he sounds very unstable, then don't open the door until an officer shows up.) Even if they don't take him in and drug test him they can at least be there for your safety. Now that he's leaving you hostile messages (don't erase them, by the way) you have no choice but to have an officer present when he's there. I will be thinking of you and please let us know how it goes.
 
I just talked to Tustin PD, he said to come in a file a complaint, that if there are threats made to my life I can file suit for criminal activity.



First stop, Tustin PD.



My roommate kept saying, code 5051? Is that a police call for suicide threats? I got the feeling this isn't the first time that police has been involved with this family.
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1222382836]I just talked to Tustin PD, he said to come in a file a complaint, that if there are threats made to my life I can file suit for criminal activity.



First stop, Tustin PD.



My roommate kept saying, code 5051? Is that a police call for suicide threats? I got the feeling this isn't the first time that police has been involved with this family.</blockquote>


You sure he wasn't saying code 5150? Troop - involuntary psychiatric hold?

Might be a good time for you to stay with a family member for a while or move altogether.

As was stated above, do not underestimate mental illness.
 
His sister said that they cannot bring him into a mental institution unless he agrees. Yeah it may have been 5150, I wasn't really listening.



I have voicemails that pretty much prove something is wrong with him, and he may be a threat to society. Isn't that enough to get him the treatment he needs?
 
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