CRYSTAL CITY, Mo. (CNN) — Crystal City police are continuing their investigation into a home break-in in a neighborhood off Highway 61 on the south side of town. A 36-year old man was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of burglary but no formal charges have been filed.
An 80-year old homeowner asked CNN affiliate News 4 not to reveal his identity but he said he returned home recently to find clues that someone had been in and around his house. The first clue he saw was a garden hose stretched across the driveway and was turned on. His wife also suspected someone was inside the house.
“She heard the door open, she said something but nobody answered. And when she came to come out the back door, the deadbolt lock was locked on the inside,” he said.
The man didn’t wait for police, he grabbed a handgun and started searching the house himself. When he looked in the basement he saw more clues someone had been in the home.
“Well I had to reach in and turn a light on under the steps and that was a little bit concerning but I did it. When I stepped inside he was really on his knees. I guess when I turned that light on he was starting to get up,” said the homeowner.
The man said he checked the burglar to make sure he wasn’t armed and then marched him outside to wait for police. The homeowner’s 53-year-old son was outside and on the phone with a police dispatcher.
The homeowner said he told the intruder to do what he was told or he’d be shot. The intruder complied.
He said, “I either thought he was high on something or hallucinating. He was trying to say something about being an undercover agent.”
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