There are a few things wrong with this picture.
For starters, you have an alleged burglar hiding in an Arkansas homeowner’s closet, having gained entry to the residence after possibly bunking in the backyard camper without permission.
And then after the homeowner discovers the intruder hiding in his closet, the intruder actually becomes combative with the homeowner and ignores — or completely forgets — one commonsense rule: Don’t assume even for a second that those you target as crime “victims” aren’t armed at least as well, if not better, than you are.
What happened?
Had the intruder heeded that simple rule when his jig was up around 10 a.m. Thursday and instead begged the homeowner for mercy, he may have escaped pain.
But instead he got a big dose of it.
“He opened the door of the closet, and he actually saw this person looking at him in the closet,” Van Buren Police Sgt. Jonathan Wear told KHBS-TV of the homeowner’s actions. “He confronted the man that was in his home. That man became combative, and then at that point he ended up having to fire shots at him.”
Wear told the station the suspected burglar was shot in the leg.
And when police arrived at the residence on Blueberry Hill Street, the homeowner was holding the intruder at gunpoint and told cops he didn’t know him, KHBS said.
The homeowner thought that perhaps the intruder was staying in his backyard camper, the station noted.
What happened next?
Police told KHBS the suspect, who is from Gentry, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries — and when he’s released, police said he’ll be arrested and most likely will face burglary charges.
“He actually had the homeowner’s wallet and a pair of his shorts,” Wear added to the station, “and so we think he was actually in the house trying to steal things from the homeowner.”
Law enforcement officials also will try to determine if the suspect has ties to any other burglaries in the area, KHBS reported.
What will happen to the homeowner?
KHBS said the case will be turned over to the local prosecutor for review, but so far the homeowner isn’t facing any charges.
*story by The Blaze