Once again, fiction surrenders to reality.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19740787/?GT1=10150

A gate-crasher's change of heart
Gunman bursts into party, tastes cheese and wine, gets hug, then leaves

By Allison Klein

Updated: 5:47 a.m. ET July 13, 2007

WASHINGTON - A grand feast of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp was
winding down, and a group of friends was sitting on the back patio of a
Capitol Hill home, sipping red wine. Suddenly, a hooded man slid in
through an open gate and put the barrel of a handgun to the head of a
14-year-old guest.

"Give me your money, or I'll start shooting," he demanded, according to
D.C. police and witness accounts.

The five other guests, including the girls' parents, froze -- and then
one spoke.

"We were just finishing dinner," Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan, 43, blurted
out. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"

The intruder took a sip of their Chateau Malescot St-Exupéry and said,
"Damn, that's good wine."

The girl's father, Michael Rabdau, 51, who described the harrowing
evening in an interview, told the intruder, described as being in his
20s, to take the whole glass. Rowan offered him the bottle. The would-be
robber, his hood now down, took another sip and had a bite of Camembert
cheese that was on the table.

'Can I get a hug?'
Then he tucked the gun into the pocket of his nylon sweatpants.

"I think I may have come to the wrong house," he said, looking around
the patio of the home in the 1300 block of Constitution Avenue NE.

"I'm sorry," he told the group. "Can I get a hug?"

Rowan, who lives in Falls Church and works part time at her children's
school, stood up and wrapped her arms around him. Then it was Rabdau's
turn. Then his wife's. The other two guests complied.

"That's really good wine," the man said, taking another sip. He had a
final request: "Can we have a group hug?"

The five adults surrounded him, arms out.

With that, the man walked out with a crystal wine glass in hand, filled
with Chateau Malescot. No one was hurt, and nothing was stolen.

The homeowner, Xavier Cervera, 45, had gone out to walk his dog at the
end of the party and missed the incident, which happened about midnight
June 16. Police classified the case as strange but true and said they
had not located a suspect.

"We believe it is a true robbery," said Cmdr. Diane Groomes, who is in
charge of patrols in the Capitol Hill area. But it's one-of-a-kind, she
said, adding, "I've never heard of a robber joining a party and then
walking out to the sunset."

The hug, she said, was especially unusual. "They should have squeezed
him and held onto him for us," she said.

Rabdau said he hasn't been able to figure out what happened.

"I was definitely expecting there would be some kind of casualty,"
Rabdau said this week. "He was very aggressive at first; then it turned
into a love fest. I don't know what it was."

Was it the wine or the cheese?
Rabdau, a federal government worker who lives in Anne Arundel County
with his family and lived on Capitol Hill with his wife in the 1980s,
said that the episode lasted about 10 minutes but seemed like an hour.
He believes the guests were spared because they kept a positive attitude
during the exchange.

"There was this degree of disbelief and terror at the same time," Rabdau
said. "Then it miraculously just changed. His whole emotional tone
turned -- like, we're one big happy family now. I thought: Was it the
wine? Was it the cheese?"

After the intruder left, the guests walked inside the house, locked the
door and stared at each other. They didn't say a word. Rabdau dialed
911. Police arrived quickly and took a report. They also dusted for
fingerprints -- so far, to no avail.

In the alley behind the home, investigators found the intruder's empty
crystal wine glass on the ground, unbroken.

Once again, fiction surrenders to reality.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19740787/?GT1=10150

A gate-crasher’s change of heart
Gunman bursts into party, tastes cheese and wine, gets hug, then leaves

By Allison Klein

Updated: 5:47 a.m. ET July 13, 2007

WASHINGTON - A grand feast of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp was
winding down, and a group of friends was sitting on the back patio of a
Capitol Hill home, sipping red wine. Suddenly, a hooded man slid in
through an open gate and put the barrel of a handgun to the head of a
14-year-old guest.

"Give me your money, or I'll start shooting," he demanded, according to
D.C. police and witness accounts.

The five other guests, including the girls' parents, froze -- and then
one spoke.

"We were just finishing dinner," Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan, 43, blurted
out. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"

The intruder took a sip of their Chateau Malescot St-Exupéry and said,
"Damn, that's good wine."

The girl's father, Michael Rabdau, 51, who described the harrowing
evening in an interview, told the intruder, described as being in his
20s, to take the whole glass. Rowan offered him the bottle. The would-be
robber, his hood now down, took another sip and had a bite of Camembert
cheese that was on the table.

'Can I get a hug?'
Then he tucked the gun into the pocket of his nylon sweatpants.

"I think I may have come to the wrong house," he said, looking around
the patio of the home in the 1300 block of Constitution Avenue NE.

"I'm sorry," he told the group. "Can I get a hug?"

Rowan, who lives in Falls Church and works part time at her children's
school, stood up and wrapped her arms around him. Then it was Rabdau's
turn. Then his wife's. The other two guests complied.

"That's really good wine," the man said, taking another sip. He had a
final request: "Can we have a group hug?"

The five adults surrounded him, arms out.

With that, the man walked out with a crystal wine glass in hand, filled
with Chateau Malescot. No one was hurt, and nothing was stolen.

The homeowner, Xavier Cervera, 45, had gone out to walk his dog at the
end of the party and missed the incident, which happened about midnight
June 16. Police classified the case as strange but true and said they
had not located a suspect.

"We believe it is a true robbery," said Cmdr. Diane Groomes, who is in
charge of patrols in the Capitol Hill area. But it's one-of-a-kind, she
said, adding, "I've never heard of a robber joining a party and then
walking out to the sunset."

The hug, she said, was especially unusual. "They should have squeezed
him and held onto him for us," she said.

Rabdau said he hasn't been able to figure out what happened.

"I was definitely expecting there would be some kind of casualty,"
Rabdau said this week. "He was very aggressive at first; then it turned
into a love fest. I don't know what it was."

Was it the wine or the cheese?
Rabdau, a federal government worker who lives in Anne Arundel County
with his family and lived on Capitol Hill with his wife in the 1980s,
said that the episode lasted about 10 minutes but seemed like an hour.
He believes the guests were spared because they kept a positive attitude
during the exchange.

"There was this degree of disbelief and terror at the same time," Rabdau
said. "Then it miraculously just changed. His whole emotional tone
turned -- like, we're one big happy family now. I thought: Was it the
wine? Was it the cheese?"

After the intruder left, the guests walked inside the house, locked the
door and stared at each other. They didn't say a word. Rabdau dialed
911. Police arrived quickly and took a report. They also dusted for
fingerprints -- so far, to no avail.

In the alley behind the home, investigators found the intruder's empty
crystal wine glass on the ground, unbroken.

Once again, fiction surrenders to reality.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19740787/?GT1=10150

A gate-crasher's change of heart
Gunman bursts into party, tastes cheese and wine, gets hug, then leaves