Photo: Witthaya Prasongsin / Moment / Getty Images
A Missouri man didn't hesitate to jump into action when he saw a suspected burglar trying to break into his neighbor's home. Andrew Miller told Leader Publications that he wasn't at his home in Crystal City on February 8 when a man jumped his fence and tried to break down a sliding door in his backyard.
"The man tried to break down our sliding door by repeatedly ramming it with our patio table," Miller told the news outlet.
Miller's wife Jamie, 40, and daughter Grace, 16, were home at the time and heard the commotion. After briefly confronting the man, the two fled the house and called police.
That's when their neighbor, D.J. LaBrot, came outside. He told Jamie and Grace to take shelter in his house while he ran over to confront the suspect.
The two got into a physical altercation, but LaBrot struggled to fight him off.
"I was just trying to hold him with everything I had, and it wasn't working. This guy had strength that was just unbelievable. So I let him go," LaBrot said.
The man tried to jump the fence into LaBrot's yard, so he grabbed an aluminum baseball bat and struck the man repeatedly. However, it had almost no effect.
Eventually, the police arrived and managed to take the suspect into custody.
The suspect was identified as a 30-year-old man who was under the influence of methamphetamine. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. He is facing multiple charges, including trespassing, assault, assault on a police officer, and resisting arrest.
The Millers are glad that LaBrot rushed to their aid and are buying him a special gift.
"It was terrifying, but we are so grateful for DJ. He really stepped in like a hero and defended our family and defended his family," Andrew said. "We've got a baseball bat on order for DJ that's engraved. It says, 'World's Best Neighbor.'"