Neighbors fight off armed burglars in St. Cloud

2 arrested in connection with burglaries

ST. CLOUD, Fla. – Alert neighbors fought off a teen armed with a knife and helped St. Cloud police catch two young burglary suspects Tuesday afternoon, according to an arrest report released Wednesday.

Two concerned neighbors took down one burglar after they saw a break-in at a home on Settlers Trail in the Canoe Creek Lakes subdivision.

The burglars were just about to get away after shattering a window, ransacking a bedroom and stealing thousands in dollars worth of jewelry when two neighbors spotted one hopping a fence and stopped the teen before he got away.

"I seen[sic] something shiny in his hand. I didn't know what it was," said Dennis Fagg, who fought off the teen, despite being bitten in the arm and nearly attacked with a knife. "He took three or four swings at me."

For the man whose home neighbors guarded, it's become a story to tell.

"He reached down in his pocket, and grabbed a knife and swung it at him," said the homeowner, Donald Van Schaick, who said he is grateful everything happened like it did. "So Dennis got him in a headlock again, slammed him into the ground. The kid wasn't done. He turned over, and bit him and drew blood. We all watch out for each other and everybody in the neighborhood owns a gun. So I don't know how lucky those kids are."

Police released the names of the alleged burglars but because they are juveniles Local 6 cannot name them. However, neighbors said both of the burglary suspects are 16 years old.

Police said both teens live in the neighborhood and one is the son of a member of law enforcement.

There were several other break-ins Tuesday. Police said they are working to determine if they might be connected.

Even though he fought of someone with a knife, Fagg said he would do it again to protect his neighbors.

"Don't come to our neighborhood," said Fagg. "We don't want you."


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