By Police1 Staff
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A group of civilians took matters in their own hands to prevent a burglar from escaping before police arrived.
Mark Thompson was caught on surveillance video Sunday trying on a homeowner’s jacket and turning on his TV, KRQE reported. He even grabbed a beer from the fridge.
Neighbor Shandra Vestal and her husband grabbed their pistols and went to help the homeowner, who had received an alert on his phone and was watching the burglar move through his home.
“We met him at the cul-de-sac. [My husband] blocked off the entry of the cul-de-sac to make sure if he did have a vehicle, the man entering the home wouldn’t be able to escape,” Vestal said.
Vestal, her husband and the homeowner confronted Thompson and told him they had loaded weapons. They told Thompson to get on his hands and knees and proceeded to duct tape his arms and feet.
“Then we picked him up, carried him out to the front yard and waited for the police to show up,” she said.
Police arrived and arrested Thompson, who was still wearing the clothes from another house he had broken into. Apparently, Thompson told the neighbors and homeowner that he wasn’t “trying to steal anything, I just want to be friends.”
Thompson has a previous criminal record, KOB 4 reported. Since January, he has been charged with disorderly conduct, animal cruelty and burglary, but has not been convicted.