Prowler Gets a Bang Out of Looking In Windows
From my local newspaper (the Herald Journal) here in Logan, Utah. I absolutely love to see articles like this one where the bad guy gets what’s coming to him because of a law-abiding gun-toting citizen.
Neighbors applaud citizen’s arrest
By Matthew K. Jensen
A Providence man was applauded by a group of his neighbors Monday night after catching a suspected prowler and holding him at gunpoint until sheriff’s deputies arrived.
Jason Walt Benson, 35, of Providence, was arrested and charged with lewdness, a class-B misdemeanor, after a homeowner chased down and apprehended the man.
Ken Sim said his neighbor had reported a prowler to police about a month ago. He and his family have been extra alert to suspicious persons and activity.
“Last night, just after 10, we heard some noises,” Sim said. “I thought it was nothing, but we heard it again so I went to my gun safe and got my gun.”
Sim said he’s an avid gun user and has a concealed weapon permit.
“I checked my backyard, flipped on the back light and opened the door and there was this guy standing there,” he said.
Cache County Sheriff’s Office reports say Sim chased after the suspect and caught up with him on the side of his home.
“I ordered him to the ground and kept my gun trained on him the whole time,” he said. “I think I told him to get down like 15 or 20 times but he finally did. Then he got up and started coming toward me. I just lifted my gun and fired it into the air once and he finally obeyed after that.”
Sim said he ordered Benson to lay face down on the ground with his arms out and palms facing upward until law enforcement arrived — something officials say was exactly right.
“I applaud this man for what he did,” said Lt. Matt Bilodeau. “He took ownership for the safety of his family and his community.”
Bilodeau said six people witnessed the event. The suspect probably wouldn’t have been caught without Sim’s help, Bilodeau added.
Both Sim and Bilodeau said the suspect and future offenders are unlikely to return to Sim’s neighborhood — knowing now that residents there are armed.
“I feel the best way to protect my family in this circumstance was to have a gun,” Sim said. “When criminals know that homeowners have guns, they’re less likely to commit crimes.”
Detectives found an ear and cheek print on one of the home’s rear windows.
“Who knows what he was doing,” Sim said. “He could have been watching us and listening to everything we were saying.”
Sim said he didn’t want to discharge the weapon at all but was trained to do so if he absolutely had to.
Phone calls to Benson’s home were unanswered Tuesday afternoon.
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E-mail:
mjensen@hjnews.com
August 28th, 2008 at 9:07 am
So they DO work?! Waddaya, know.