Paint balls stop home burglary suspect, say Galveston cops

(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.

Bond was set at $40,000.