NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A man who thought he heard a wild animal rustling around in his soon-to-be renovated home near New Smyrna Beach instead found a burglar suspected of stealing scrap metal and held him at gunpoint until deputies arrived.
[LISTEN: 911 call released in burglary]
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Charles Price, 39, was arrested on charges of burglary.
According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, a 59-year-old man was in a camper in the front yard of a house in the 1700 block of James Street around 11:15 a.m. Monday when he heard noises in the back of the house.
The man thought it was an animal, so he grabbed a gun and went into the house, said deputies, who added that the man found Price carrying two buckets of copper wire and a couple of tennis rackets.
The homeowner pointed his gun at Price and ordered him to get on the ground, deputies said. The man then called the Sheriff's Office and waited for deputies to arrive.
"I don't plan on shooting him, but if he does something stupid, what else am I going to do?" the man said in the 911 call.
Price, who lives behind the burglarized house, told deputies he thought the property was abandoned. He told deputies he was going to sell the items.
Price, who was also found to have a civil order for arrest for failure to pay child support, was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.