Burglary thwarted after citizen calls police

Published 4:47 pm Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Saturday, around 2 a.m., police received a call from a woman on East Perdue Street.

The woman had heard a loud noise outside,and immediately went to her bedroom and locked herself in the closet.

Lieutenant Justin Lovvorn said when officers arrived on the scene, they saw a man walking around inside.

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“We saw someone walking around, and he actually came and answered the door,” Lovvorn said.

Police identified the man as Dannie Williams, a 24-year old from Mt. Zion.

Once the police had Williams in custody, the home’s occupant came outside to confirm that she did not know him.

“Williams said some guy that worked at the Hyundai plant said he could come in the house through the window to pick something up,” Lovvorn said. “It sounded unlikely, but the name he provided was indeed for someone who worked at the plant.”

Inside the house, police found a window unit air conditioner that had been pushed through to gain entry to the house. Lovvorn said he believes the guy had intended to burglarize the house, and was not there just for copper from the air conditioner.

“As it turns out, the guy who worked at the Hyundai plant had no idea who the man was,” Lovvorn said. “In our mind, we think he knew the guy was at work, but didn’t know someone else lived there.’

Williams was charged with burglary, 2nd and criminal mischief, 3rd.

Lovvorn said the homeowner acted exactly as she should have given the circumstances.

“Try to secure yourself as much as possible and just call the police,” Lovvorn said. “We encourage you to do anything to protect yourself, but if you do have a weapon, make sure you know how to operate it safely before keeping one around the house.”