Paint balls stop home burglary suspect, say Galveston cops

By: Barry Leibowitz
Topics: Daily Blotter

KHOU

(CBS/AP) GALVESTON, Texas - A burglary suspect who got pelted with paint balls clearly wasn't in the same league as the South Texas woman who left her mark on him.

The Galveston County Daily News reports 34-year-old Carrie King pulled out a paint ball gun Friday and opened fire at an intruder, coloring him a distinctive yellow hue.

Galveston police say the intruder was 53-year-old Elvis Alexander, who sometimes mowed the woman's yard.

King had suspected that a man who helped her with yard work, Elvis Alexander, was stealing. On a day when she was supposed to be out of the house, she prepared to catch him in the act, CBS affiliate KHOU reported.

"I don't know how he jimmied the door but he got in and started rustling through some stuff there and there," said King. "Then, he went upstairs."

King grabbed the gun, along with the yellow paint balls, while calling 911.

"I gave her a location, what was going on and then my name," recalled King. "I told her to get here now because I was armed with a paintball gun."

According to KHOU, as the intruder came back down, King made her move. Yellow paint balls began to fly, hitting Alexander.

"If I would have had a real weapon and if I would have shot the same way, Elvis would have been dead on my steps," she said.

Police say Alexander was bright yellow as he was hauled off to jail and charged with burglary.

"Finally the cop was like lady, put it down, we got him," she told KHOU.

Police say Alexander was struck several times. He did not require medical help...just a good cleaning.

Bond was set at $40,000.

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by Kevin_Raposo June 15, 2012 9:53 AM EDT: In a previous story, it failed to mention that this "burglar" was actually someone who mowed her lawn from time to time. Instead of catching someone in the act, she should of fired him before any doubts were raised!

I recently wrote an article that might be helpful to readers on how a burglar actually robs your home:

A Burglar's Universal Search Pattern - How a Burglar Robs Your Home in 8 Minutes
http://simplisafe.com/blog/burglar-universal-search-pattern-how-burglar-robs-your-home-8-minutes

Feel free to share or re-post!; Reply to this comment

by wasamonkey June 12, 2012 6:38 PM EDT

So a guy breaks into a house and attempts to steal the cheapest food item. (which probably cost less than the paint balls) This sounds like the actions of someone that's starving and simply looking for food to survive. Yet you media make a joke of it and laugh. You are pitiful, to say pitiful people or humans is an insult to the rest of us so I refrain. If this is news, then I know I can live without it.

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by davec169 January 21, 2013 10:36 PM EST: So what you're saying is that it's okay for someone to break into and burglarize your house as long as they're just hungry? I don't own a paint ball gun but I do own several real guns so that old boy is lucky he didn't decide to come into my house. I can't believe people like you think breaking into someone's house is excusable because the poor man wanted something to eat. It seems to me that you are the one that is pitiful.