Father subdued intruder quickly - Burglar was caught in 9-year-old's bed and held for police

Rocky Mountain News ^ | August 21, 2002 | Tillie Fong

[Bubba_Leroy]

Father subdued intruder quickly Burglar was caught in 9-year-old's bed and held for police

By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News August 21, 2002

CENTENNIAL - The father who caught an intruder in his 9-year-old daughter's bed Sunday morning said he was in shock when he saw the man, but reacted quickly.

"I grabbed him by the throat with one arm, and grabbed my daughter with the other arm and pushed her to the door, to my wife," the 32-year-old father said Tuesday. "She (my wife) took her to another bedroom and called 911."

Early Sunday morning, Erik Scott O'Connell, 22, of Conifer, allegedly went inside a home on East Dry Creek Place through a window in the lower family room, took money from a wallet left on the kitchen counter, and went upstairs.

He allegedly made his way into the 9-year-old girl's bedroom, stripped off all his clothing except for a T-shirt, and slipped into the girl's bed.

The girl's father said he and his wife had gone to bed shortly after midnight. He is not being identified because the case involves charges related to sexual assault.

They were awakened about two hours later by their 4-year-old dog, a Labrador-terrier mix, barking and growling in their second floor bedroom.

He said he checked the bedroom of two sons but found nothing. But when he got to his daughter's room, he was shocked at what he saw.

"I saw a man lying in the bed with my daughter," he said. "She was asleep."

Although the girl was closer to her father, he said his first reaction was to grab the intruder before shoving his daughter to safety.

"He was fighting me to get out," the girl's father said. "My objective was to keep him there. I grabbed him by the throat and suffocated (sic) him."

He said he could smell alcohol on O'Connell, whom he managed to detain until Arapahoe County Sheriff deputies arrived about two minutes later.

"Although (the father) denied it, I consider him a hero," said Arapahoe County interim Sheriff Grayson Robinson. "I consider his daughter and his wife heroes. They took appropriate measures to remove the child from a dangerous situation."

The girl's father said his family hasn't decided whether to move from the home, where they have lived for two years. Both his daughter and wife are doing relatively well, considering what happened.

"It has been very difficult for me and my family," he said. "We never experienced anything like this. I should not have to deal with a situation like this."

O'Connell remains in the Arapahoe County Jail on $50,000 bail. He faces one count of first-degree burglary, which was upgraded Tuesday from a second-degree burglary charge; two counts of criminal intent, sexual assault on a child; one theft charge; and one misdemeanor assault charge.

[Bubba_Leroy]

The scum is lucky. I would have beaten him to death. I have guns for home defense, but I'm pretty sure I would have wanted to kill the S.O.B. with my bare hands.

[OXENinFLA]

WTF!! is going on here? Are there more cases or are they just being reported more?

[Frank_Discussion]

I keep imagining a splinter-laden broom handle when I hear one of these stories...

[Billy_bob_bob]

Big mistake letting this guy live. This wannabe rapist WILL go out and do it again eventually. This father should have clamped down on the windpipe and not let go until this guy was stone dead. Now some other little girl is going to end up being raped because this father couldn't bring himself to kill a piece of filth when he had the chance to do it free and clear.

I'm becoming convinced that the western world is too civilized to live. A large sized dose of good old fashioned barbarism would serve us very well right about now.

[CJ Wolf]

reported more. They had a report on it on the news, it's the same phenom as the shark bites last year.

[mystery-ak]

This is why people should get a dog.....the dog alerted the parents, otherwise they may have slept through the whole thing...the dog is the hero.<br?

[Bubba_Leroy]

I can't believe that they are holding him on only $50K bail. It would be worth posting it just to get the S.O.B. out in the open where he could be used for target practice.

[hopespringseternal]

I'm becoming convinced that the western world is too civilized to live. A large sized dose of good old fashioned barbarism would serve us very well right about now.

The liberals give barbarians a pass because they are barbarians. But if you prove yourself capable of being a law-abiding citizen and engage in legitimate violence, they will stop at nothing to destroy you.

[WindMinstrel]

"I saw a man lying in the bed with my daughter," he said. "She was asleep."

I agree, that f*&ker is lucky this guy held back. I would have broken him into pieces. OTOH, society isn't lucky that he held back. Critters like that belong in the ground.

[evolved_rage]

Agree. Kill a few of these perps and the lure of media attention loses it charm. Why are there no dead priests? Because the f%^&ers picked on kids with few male relatives. If this is a sickness, then lets make it terminal, and fast!

[Savage Beast]

The intruder is lucky that the father didn't rip out his trachea with his bare hands.

[dd5339]

I agree with you. This guy would have been dead from either a large dose of buckshot at close range, or a very p*ssed off Rhodesian Ridgeback chewing on him.

Semper Fi

[ez2muz]

I've been wondering the same thing...
...here's a pretty good article about it

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020826-338629,00.html

[Wm Bach]

In England, the father would be under arrest for "resisting
a criminal act."

[oc-flyfish]

If I found a man in my daughter's bed I probably would have killed him in a fit of rage. This guy sure exercised self control.

[Maigrey]

G_d help the (bleep) I ever catch in my daughter's bed. He would be read his last rights while I was removing him from the face of the planet. In this case, I think the addage He needed killin' would be an appropriate defence.
Besides, why leave him to sue me for hurting him?

-Maigrey-

[Skooz]

I have an 11 year-old daughter.
I also have a two-year old Boxer.
They sleep in the same room.
We're covered.

[pattycake]

I vote for the dog too. I have one and no one can get close to our home without him barking. And by the way, what is happening with all these abductions, etc., have people gone out of their minds? This is a daily thing involving our kids.

[mhking]

"My objective was to keep him there. I grabbed him by the throat and suffocated (sic) him."

I would have calmly asked my wife to pass me the Louisville Slugger while I had his scrawny ass by the throat; once she had, I would have commenced to beating him.

If the SOB died, oh, well...