Former Marine Stops Burglary, Holds Intruder at Gunpoint
Josh Crammond said when he first heard the break in Thursday night, he thought it was his girlfriend.
"I was awake and then I heard glass break," Crammond said. "I thought she fell in the kitchen and dropped something and it scared me, and then I heard somebody kick in my door."
24-year-old Christopher Price had busted through the glass in Crammonds door, but he picked the wrong house.
"My father was a police officer, and I spent four years in the Marine Corps."
So Crammond pulled a gun on the intruder, scared him off, called 911 and went upstairs.
But Price tried breaking in again.
"I was definitely shaking," Crammond's girlfriend said. "It was probably the most nervous I've ever been in my life."
Crammond stopped him again.
"He was trying to get back in the house at that point, and she was screaming for me, and I came back in the kitchen and I held him at gunpoint pretty much until the cops got here. He ran into the alley probably 15 seconds before the cops showed up and they caught him by Walnut street."
Things could have gotten a lot worse.
"I didn't want to kill anybody, but I was prepared to."
Springfield Police Lt. Chris Mueller says he did exactly what a lawful gun owner should have.
"He did an outstanding job of defending his castle, and had the restraint to know not to shoot because he didn't feel his life was in danger at that point."
Mueller said, if his life would have been in danger, he could have pulled the trigger.
"I'm glad I didn't have to be honest," Crammond said. "I'm glad they got him."
Price has been charged with attempted burglary.
