Boonville man fights off intruder, then ridicules suspect on Craigslist

BOONVILLE, IN (WFIE) - One victim of theft, fights back and then turns to Craigslist to tell the suspect he's ready for him to come back.

Police said the Boonville man noticed his garage light was on in the middle of the night. His wife said he went to turn it off and found a man inside.

She tells 14 News the man came at her husband and that's when he grabbed a shovel to fight him off. After the altercation, the man posted this message on Craigslist:

"THIS message is for the thief & his friends that has been stealing tools and misc items around our neighborhood & town. How does it feel to get whacked with a long handle shovel by an old man, not once, but twice? If you want to try again, come on back.

I posted this in the free postings, since this guy thinks everything in our community and my garage is free? If you have a friend that is all black and blue, bruised up with a lousy excuse. He may be a thief!"

The victim's wife said they received more than 300 responses to the ad, many of them supporting the victim for defending his property.

Neighbors say they're surprised by the recent thefts because they're used to being able to leave their doors and cars unlocked.

But when it comes to an intruder, neighbors support one another in defending, what's theirs.

"They're elderly like me and my husband and if someone had tried to attack me or Lou, we wouldn't have ever hurt anyone that's just something we don't believe in, but we would have fought to defend ourselves and I think he did the right thing," neighbor Debbie Wongler said.

Police say they've seen a number of thefts in several neighborhoods. Police say they believe multiple suspects are stealing items in order to re-sell or trade them for drugs.

Many of the items are stolen from garages, sheds and unlocked cars.

Debbie lives across the street from two of the targeted homes and said some of the stolen goods ended up in her yard.

"I was awakened by my neighbor to tell me there was a backpack, a cell phone and an electric cord and a pair of black pants. And we just don't think of people doing that here in this small town," Debbie said.

Debbie said they've lived in Boonville for several years and never thought twice about leaving windows and doors open.

"Years ago you could sleep with your windows open, several times I made a remark to my husband about you know it's a nice night, lets leave the windows open, I'll never ever suggest that again," Debbie said.

Debbie's daughter-in-law, Sarah Wongler, also lives in Boonville and is concerned with recent thefts.

"With me having young children running around, it's definitely something to be afraid of, my husband owns his own business and it's just definitely you know makes you want to lock everything up and not be comfortable and be aware of everything going around you," Sarah said.

Boonville Police said they have arrested at least one suspect in one of many thefts and said some of the stolen goods have been recovered.

Officials said they're still investigating to determine which, if any, are connected.