The Green Industry's Resource Center

Charles · #1 02-20-2009, 07:12 AM

Thought this was cool:

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- When most people see a crime in progress, they grab a phone, call 911 and then get out of the way.

But when Patrick Rosario discovered burglars in his own home, he decided to take things a step further: he drove off in their van.

Rosario said the incident began when was home alone, walking in the basement and heard a strange noise he couldn't ignore.

"I heard a bang, and I've never heard anything like that in my house. You could slam the door and it wouldn't be as loud as that bang was," he said.

He then heard footsteps, and he could tell they didn't belong to his wife.

"I wasn't really worried until I heard running," he said.

With his heart pounding, Rosario ran up the basement steps and peeked under the door. Disbelief then sunk in.

"'I'm getting robbed' -- that's literally going through my head," he said.

Rosario saw burglars ransacking the house, dragging his flat-screen TV, electronics and his wife's jewelry box to the front door.

Rosario quietly ran out the back door. Then he spotted the crooks' getaway van. It was sitting empty with the engine still running.

That's when he decided to make a move.

Rosario jumped in the crooks' van and drove off. Then he called 911.

Operator: 911, what are you reporting?

Rosario: Somebody's broken into my house.

Operator: I'm sorry?

Rosario: Somebody's broken into my house!...I just drove their car away. They've got nothing.

Operator: Their car?

Rosario: Yeah, I know. I stole their car.

Operator: OK, you can now be charged for that, so stop.

Rosario never got to see the look on the burglars' faces when they realized their plan was foiled. He was long gone.

Operator: They'll be a little confused when they come outside.

Rosario: I hope so. That was kind of the point.

The would-be crooks ran off, leaving behind all the loot.

"They didn't get anything. We've got fingerprints. They lost their van," Rosario said.

And Rosario got the satisfaction of knowing that for once, it was the burglars who got bungled big time.

"It was a good feeling, I've gotta say," he said.

Rosario was greeted with high-fives from responding deputies, but he admits taking the getaway car wasn't the safest move.

Rosario has since invested in a new alarm system. The burglars remain on the loose.

Carolina Cuts · #2 02-20-2009, 07:16 AM

that's awesome.....

muddstopper · #3 02-20-2009, 09:47 AM

he should have aimed it at a tree and placed a brick on the gas pedal and turned it loose..And then hid around the corner while calling 911. The crooks would have probably still been trying to figure out how to get away in their wrecked van and have been caught.