Sunday, April 1, 2007
Man camps out at work, busts burglars
From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_fe_st/do_it_yourself_cop;_ylt=Ath1hyRvxgYA6VsdBj7QaEIsQE4F
Man camps out at work, busts burglars
Fri Mar 30, 9:18 PM ET
Steve Bauer had had enough after two nights of someone breaking into his business and stealing antiques. So he armed himself with a cola bottle and a .44-caliber Magnum and spent the night at work. Soon, Bauer had his man. And a woman.
Bauer, owner of Steve Bauer Properties, was fed up after burglars hit his business twice. So he spent the night at his realty office on Wednesday.
Bauer, 51, had the gun for protection, and he propped the plastic bottle at the back door so it would make a noise if someone opened it.
"I fell asleep sometime after 11," he said. "I woke up when I heard the bottle fall. I could hear papers shuffling in my office."
Bauer peeked into his office and saw a woman with a flashlight looking through his desk. He asked what she was doing, and the woman called him by name and replied she was looking for a house to rent.
"I said, 'Ma'am, it's midnight, and you have a flashlight. I don't believe so. I believe you need to lay down on the ground.'"
Bauer called Athens police, and he heard someone outside while he was on the phone. The woman's boyfriend was in a pickup truck.
"I ordered him to get out and put his hands on the truck," Bauer said. "I told him I had a gun and was on the phone with police, but he cranked the truck and took off."
Bauer shot at the truck's back tires, but a bullet ricocheted off the road and hit the window of another business.
An officer arrived and handcuffed the woman, who remained on the floor, while others searched for the pickup.
"A .44 Magnum's a big gun," Bauer said. "It probably looked like a cannon to her. I think it scared her into staying put."
Police spotted the truck and tried to stop the driver, but he kept going and went to his home, where officers arrested the man.
Police charged Daniel Stubbs, 46, with driving under the influence, drug possession, burglary, attempting to elude, driving with a suspended license and having an open container of alcohol. Stubbs was released from the Limestone County Jail on $8,000 bond.
Police charged his girlfriend, 43-year-old Daphne Watkins, with two counts of burglary. She was out of jail on $4,000 bond, and Bauer said police have recovered most of his antiques, such as Tiffany lamps, cuckoo clocks and jewelry.
Bauer suspects his office was targeted because the two have attended some of the same auctions.
"I don't think they've ever come into my office for business, but they probably recognized me from those auctions and realized I had antiques," he said.
___
Information from: The Decatur Daily, http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml
Man camps out at work, busts burglars
Fri Mar 30, 9:18 PM ET
Steve Bauer had had enough after two nights of someone breaking into his business and stealing antiques. So he armed himself with a cola bottle and a .44-caliber Magnum and spent the night at work. Soon, Bauer had his man. And a woman.
Bauer, owner of Steve Bauer Properties, was fed up after burglars hit his business twice. So he spent the night at his realty office on Wednesday.
Bauer, 51, had the gun for protection, and he propped the plastic bottle at the back door so it would make a noise if someone opened it.
"I fell asleep sometime after 11," he said. "I woke up when I heard the bottle fall. I could hear papers shuffling in my office."
Bauer peeked into his office and saw a woman with a flashlight looking through his desk. He asked what she was doing, and the woman called him by name and replied she was looking for a house to rent.
"I said, 'Ma'am, it's midnight, and you have a flashlight. I don't believe so. I believe you need to lay down on the ground.'"
Bauer called Athens police, and he heard someone outside while he was on the phone. The woman's boyfriend was in a pickup truck.
"I ordered him to get out and put his hands on the truck," Bauer said. "I told him I had a gun and was on the phone with police, but he cranked the truck and took off."
Bauer shot at the truck's back tires, but a bullet ricocheted off the road and hit the window of another business.
An officer arrived and handcuffed the woman, who remained on the floor, while others searched for the pickup.
"A .44 Magnum's a big gun," Bauer said. "It probably looked like a cannon to her. I think it scared her into staying put."
Police spotted the truck and tried to stop the driver, but he kept going and went to his home, where officers arrested the man.
Police charged Daniel Stubbs, 46, with driving under the influence, drug possession, burglary, attempting to elude, driving with a suspended license and having an open container of alcohol. Stubbs was released from the Limestone County Jail on $8,000 bond.
Police charged his girlfriend, 43-year-old Daphne Watkins, with two counts of burglary. She was out of jail on $4,000 bond, and Bauer said police have recovered most of his antiques, such as Tiffany lamps, cuckoo clocks and jewelry.
Bauer suspects his office was targeted because the two have attended some of the same auctions.
"I don't think they've ever come into my office for business, but they probably recognized me from those auctions and realized I had antiques," he said.
___
Information from: The Decatur Daily, http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml
posted by Knot at 12:50 PM
2 Comments:
That's a good one, mostly because I'm intrigued with imagining the huge domestic dispute that surely came when Daphne was finally able to confront Dan for not even hesitating to leave her at the crime scene. So sad its funny.
Hey Snapshot: I loved this story too. It was obvious the police were going to do nothing. I'm glad no one was hurt. I can imagine how angry Daphne was when she found out Dan just took off.
~Jef
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