case the joint
1. Sl. to look over some place to figure out how to break in, what to steal, etc. (Underworld.) First of all you gotta case the joint to see where things are. You could see he was casing the joint the way he hung around.
2. Sl. to look a place over. The dog came in and cased the joint, sniffing out friends and foes. The old lady entered slowly, casing the joint for someone of her own age, and finally took a seat.