By PETER SCHALLER
Freedom Communications
CBS 12
November 19, 2009
LAKE WORTH — This next homeowner is a force to be reckoned with. He’s 91, he was buck naked, but he and his dog decided to go after a would be burglar.
He held the man at gunpoint until police arrived. Deputies say they found the would-be burglar on the back porch by the pool drunk and trembling — probably not how he thought it would all go down.
He got more than he bargained for when he decided to mess with this elderly man and his trusty rottweiler mix. Robert Thompson, 91, and his 5-year-old dog, Rett, tag-teamed a thug trying to break into their Lake Worth home Friday night.
“I think the guy was scared to death,” Thompson said. “He was screaming.”
Thompson jumped out of bed, totally naked, and went to go check things out with Rett by his side.
“I started to let him out the door, and he was so anxious he got caught in the door,” he said.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, 26-year-old Jose Pascual was the man on the porch. Rett pinned Pascual, but this Purple Heart World War II veteran wanted back-up.
“I went in and got my cell phone and dialed 911 and got my gun,” he said.
Thompson said Pascual was coming toward him so he fired a shot. Authorities said he held the drunk intruder at gunpoint until deputies arrived, but he’s giving his best bud Rett all the credit for the happy ending. “He’s the hero.”
Pascual was arrested, and Thompson was taken to the hospital. One of the shots he allegedly fired ricocheted, giving him a minor battle wound. He said he is hopeful the bad guys learned a lesson about messing the boys at 504 North C St.
“If anyone violates my home they better be careful, that’s all I got to say,” said Thompson.
Thompson tells us that he has been living alone since his wife died 10 years ago, and that having Rett around makes life easier. The suspect in this case is facing burglary charges, authorities said.
