Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Cops: Gun-toting grandma chases armed robbers from home

Thomas Allen Linder (from left), Anne Renee Dearman, John Michael O’Neal (Credit: Newton County Sheriff’s Office)
Thomas Allen Linder (from left), Anne Renee Dearman, John Michael O’Neal (Credit: Newton County Sheriff’s Office)
By Raisa Habersham
Nov 16, 2016

A few would-be burglars learned the hard way not to mess with grandma.

Just as Elaine Stiehl, 78, was about to take her nap, she heard a noise coming from the front of her home, Coweta County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Col. James Yarbrough said.

Stiehl grabbed her pistol, loaded it and stepped into the hallway to find two men, who allegedly broke into her home, police said.

Yarbrough said the men, Thomas Allen Linder and John Michael O’Neal, saw the gun, ran out of the home and got into an SUV driven by Anne Renee Dearman. The trio sped off, but police later found them heading north on I-85, Yarbrough said. Two guns, one stolen from out of state, power tools and fur coats were found in the car.

Linder, 44, was charged with burglary and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. O’Neal, 32, was charged with burglary and theft by receiving stolen property. Dearman, 49, was charged with burglary.

The three were taken to the Coweta County jail.

About the Author

Raisa Habersham is the Intown Atlanta hyperlocal reporter for The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

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