06/29/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Sandra Quinlan // Sandra Quinlan
Spartanburg, SC—An elderly man who came home only to find out he was being robbed took matters into his own hands Saturday, June 26, 2010. The homeowner reportedly detained the suspect, holding him at gunpoint until deputies arrived at the residence to take the culprit into custody, according to information provided by WYFF4.com.
Ken Easler, 73, was about to head over to the farmer’s market when he stopped at his home on Jones Road to get something to drink. Upon stepping inside, he heard someone upstairs and immediately jumped into action.
“I put the clip in and jacked one in the chamber, and when I did, he had already started down the steps. He sat down. He sat down and held onto the rail… (He) started saying stuff like, ‘I had to use the bathroom so bad. I had to use your bathroom. I was walking down the road and I had this big urge to use that bathroom,’” Easler explained.
However, Easler was not fooled by the intruder’s excuses. “I told him, you know, ‘You’d better shut up and don’t make any sudden moves… I put him in the bathroom and I told him, I said, ‘If you close the door,’ I said, ‘I’m going to fill it full of bullet holes, so don’t close the door,” he said.
The suspect, later identified as Douglas Nickerson, attempted to convince Easler of his innocence several times, but to no avail. According to Easler, “He was saying stuff like, ‘I’ve never done anything like this before. If you let me go, I’ll never do it again.’ He said, ‘I don’t have anything. I didn’t take anything.” Easler then went on to call 911.
“He started like hyper-ventilating. He said, ‘I’ve got to have water—my hear—I’ve got to have water’… At one point, he started faking a cry like a baby would cry. I said, ‘Shut up, that don’t work either.’ I said, ‘You became a man when you came in my house.’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to hear no crying.”
When police officials finally arrived at the home, they discovered Easler still point the gun at the burglar. Upon searching Nickerson, they found two rolls of dollar bills, amounting to $100. He was charged with residential burglary, unlawful entry and theft.
Even after the incident, Easler maintained a cool and collected stance, concluding, “I knew I had it under control because when I told him to put his hands up, I told him, ‘Don’t you take them down.’ I said, ‘If you do, I’m going to shoot you.”
Legal News Reporter: Sandra Quinlan- Legal News for South Carolina Criminal Lawyers.
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