An 80-year-old man and his 53-year-old son reportedly found an intruder inside the father’s Crystal City home and were able to force the suspect outside and hold him there until police arrived, Crystal City Police Chief Chad Helms said.
He said the incident happened about 1 p.m. July 26 at a home in the 1000 block of Airport Road.
“Upon our officers arriving (at the home), they found the reporting party, an 80-year-old male (armed with a handgun) standing over the suspect … while having the suspect lying face down on the driveway of the residence,” Helms said in a written report.
Crystal City Police took the suspect, a 36-year-old Pacific man, into custody and transported him to the Crystal City Police Department, where he was booked for suspicion of burglary, Helms reported.
The incident began when the father and his son arrived at the house to find water running from a hose in the yard. The 80-year-old man’s wife was outside the home but said she had just been inside, the report said.
The woman told police she had been on the porch but had gone inside to make herself a cup of tea and when she got ready to return to the porch, she noticed a door that had been unlocked was locked from the inside, Helms said.
“His wife stated she had also heard a noise from inside the residence before walking out,” Helms reported.
“The (man) and his son then went inside to search the home and found the suspect … hiding in the basement underneath the staircase,” Helms said. “He and his son were able to take the suspect outside the home without any type of confrontation until our officers arrived. Thankfully we were able to take this subject into custody without anyone being injured.”
Helms said police were not sure why the man was in the home.
“It appeared (he) was possibly under the influence of narcotics,” Helms said.
After the suspect was booked, he was taken to Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City for further evaluation.