Ohio man detains burglar at gunpoint after he tried to break into home with pitchfork

WEST SALEM, Ohio — An Ohio man accused of using a pitchfork to try and break into one home was held at gunpoint by the homeowner until he was arrested, authorities said.

Michael S. Hooser, 37, of Lima, was arrested Saturday and charged with one count of burglary, which is a second-degree felony, in Wayne County Municipal Court, according to The Daily Record of Wooster. According to court records, Hooser is being held in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday, the newspaper reported.

Wayne County deputies arrived at a West Salem home to find Hooser being held at gunpoint by the homeowner, WEWS-TV reported. According to deputies, Hooser was arrested after committing several armed thefts and burglaries in the area, the television station reported.

Tom Phillips was the homeowner who held Hooser at gunpoint, the Daily Record reported. Phillips said his wife alerted him to their garage door apparently being kicked open.

“So I got up, got dressed, got my pistol,” Phillips, 37, told the newspaper Monday.

Phillips, 37, said he saw Hooser trying to get into his garage.

“I pulled my weapon up, told him to stop and to get on the ground,” Phillips, told the Daily Record. “I held him at gunpoint until the cops got there.”

Hooser caused about $500 worth of damage to Phillips’ garage door, according to a report by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. At a neighbor’s house, Hooser allegedly used a pitchfork to break a glass storm door in order to break into the home, the report said.

According to WEWS, the arrest report said deputies found Hooser with a firearm, a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine, a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana, a .380 caliber magazine with rounds inside, a Bushnell Rangefinder, a wallet belonging to a nearby homeowner and an “abundance” of lighters, hand tools, flashlights and knives.

“When someone breaks into your home, you kind of lose a sense of security,” Phillips told the Daily Record. “And it kind of gave me back a little bit of that security knowing that he was apprehended.”

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