A pastor and his son, also a pastor, returned to their residence in Fairlawn, Ohio, only to find their home burgled.
The home’s owner — an Akron pastor — caught the robber in the act and, with the help of his son, was able to hold him down until police arrived.
When 60-year-old Jerome Parker and his 25-year-old son Joshua got back to their Stanley Road home around 11:30 a.m. Thursday they heard noises coming from upstairs.
They also noticed the front door was open. When the two went upstairs to investigate, they found a burglar in a bedroom closet.
The 25-year-old burglar, identified as Joshua Hawkins, was subdued by the duo. They wrestled him to the ground and held until police arrived.
“Please just get off me” said the burglar, who was overheard on the 911 call. “I’m not going nowhere, I promise.”
“You’re right about that” said Pastor Parker.
“Personally, I commend them. They used excellent restraint in just hanging onto him and holding him and they did a great job,” said Sgt. Randy Bartlett. “In this particular situation, it worked out well. They assessed the situation and felt they could detain him and they did.”
Police are investigating whether Hawkins is connected to other burglaries around town.
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