An alleged burglar got into a bigger fight than he was expecting when he stepped into a 95-year old Marine’s house on Dec. 4, the Journal Sentinel reported.
The World War II veteran, identified as Fred, wrestled the alleged burglar to the ground. Afterward, his daughter chased after the burglar and caught him six blocks later after jumping over fences and running through yards, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Fred said his dog starting barking, alerting him that someone was breaking in through the back door.
“He must have seen him,” Fred said. “I was almost standing nose to nose with him. That was a shocker.”
He said the robber walked up to him and threatened to kill him and his dog if he didn’t hand over his wallet.
“I wasn’t scared. I was so damn mad,” he said.
He wrestled the alleged burglar, identified as Gary Wells, to the ground before his daughter, Mary, ran downstairs to help her father. She tried to take down the burglar and hold him there until help arrived, but instead took back the wallet before he went to punch her.
The burglar ran out the front door, but Mary chased him down the street calling for neighbors to call 911.
“We jumped over two fences and ran through 12 yards,” Mary said.
She caught up to him but did not tackle him because she was alone. However, when she heard cop cars in the neighborhood, she swiftly took her chance and grabbed him when his foot got stuck on a picket fence.
“It was just reflexes. I guess it rubbed off from my father,” she told the Journal Sentinel.
The burglar was found with nine silver and gold cuff links, presumably taken from another home.
Wells was charged by the Milwaukee County District Attorney on Dec. 12 with felony burglary.
