Bodycam video: Ohio residents hold burglary suspect at gunpoint
WEST SALEM, Ohio (WJW)– A suspected burglar accused of using a pitchfork to break into several homes found himself looking down the barrel of a gun.
A Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy was called to a rural area outside of West Salem, where two homeowners were holding a suspect at gunpoint.
“He took the damn pitchfork, busted my storm door lock, busted that out. There’s four holes in my door,” an unnamed homeowner is heard saying on the video.
The suspect, 37-year-old Michael Hooser, can be heard on the video telling the deputy he “might have a handgun” in his pocket. According to the police report, his pockets held a gun along with items he had stolen during break-ins.
Hooser was taken to the Wayne County Jail and is being held on a $150,000 bond.
When the suspected burglar was confronted, he ran into a wooded area, but residents tracked him down by following his footprints in the snow. Deputy Steven Hunter determined that the suspect was wanted for a series of crimes across the county.