After checking that his wife was sleeping beside him, the homeowner grabbed the 9mm handgun he keeps in his nightstand and leapt out of bed. He didn’t have any clothes on.

“I have a tattoo of the grim reaper, my hair is sticking up all crazy and I’m naked,” said the homeowner, who asked that his name be withheld for safety reasons. “I’m not sure if (the burglar) was more afraid of me or the gun.”

Upon confronting the homeowner, the burglar screamed “I’m so sorry, sir” twice before he ran and jumped out of the first-floor window he had apparently used to get into the house. The next morning, the homeowner said he saw the indentations of where the man’s body hit the dirt.

More popular and trending stories

“He probably went out that window head first,” he said. “It’s all pretty absurd.”

Police confirmed that they received a report about the break-in, but no suspect was arrested.

A break-in in the middle of a weeknight is very unusual, police said. Investigators believe the break-in may be connected to another that occurred last week; in that case, the residents were not home at the time.

The second homeowner is offering a $1,000 reward for any information that results in an arrest and conviction in the case.

“If I can get him off the street that’s money well spent,” he said.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor and AJC Publisher Andrew Morse were joined by AJC editors and Atlanta business react during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Midtown on Friday, January 24, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo