Retired E-9 fights off armed home intruder - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Retired E-9 fights off armed home intruder

A 63-year-old retired sergeant major fought off an intruder March 5 in his Jacksonville, N.C., home, according to police.

Retired Sgt. Maj. George Shea said he woke up at 4 a.m. to his granddaughter crying out that someone was breaking in. He said he walked out of his bedroom to see a man up against a wall. The man was armed with what appeared to be a knife, Jacksonville Police reported.

“He was standing there with a ski mask over his face,” Shea said. “The first thing I did was grab for the mask and pull it off his head.”

The two men fought to the ground and the intruder fled, Shea said.

Police have arrested a suspect that Shea says is his granddaughter’s ex-boyfriend. Alan James Webster, 22, has been charged with burglary and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. He was placed in Onslow County Jail with no bond.

“The Constitution says a home is a man’s castle and I spent too much time defending our freedom to think that I was going to leave or surrender to some young punk,” Shea told a local TV station.