Decatur Man Battles Burglar in Living Room

Decatur police said a resident of the 1100 block of Adams Street was slightly injured Dec. 3 while grappling with a man who broke into his house.

This is the information from the police incident report and an interview with the burglary victim:

The man and his wife were sleeping on the second floor when they heard a crashing noise coming from their front door about 11 p.m. She called 911 while the man went downstairs and found a stranger in the living room holding a 37-inch television set.

The resident yelled at the burglar, causing him to drop the television, and jumped over the bannister. They started fighting and the burglar struck the resident with the television set.

The fighting continued out the front door and into the yard, where the resident pushed the suspect onto the ground, causing him to drop the television again.

The man grabbed the television, loaded it into a white van in the driveway and drove south on Adams Street before turning east on East Pharr Road.

The resident hurt his right knee and leg when he was struck with the television set and suffered a small laceration to his left middle finger. He declined medical attention.

A neighbor came home when the fighting started and confirmed the resident's description of what happened in the front yard.

Police found the front door broken open, with the deadbolt lock still engaged and a fooprint on the door. A shelf normally occupied by the television sat was found in disarray.

The suspect was described as a black male 25-30 years old, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. He had a dark complexion, short hair and wore a red plaid coat.

The white van had a dark logo on the side. The residents said officers told them it may have been a stolen DeKalb County government van.

According to Decatur police, a 2006 Ford Econoline van with a DeKalb Recreation Deprtment logo was reported stolen Dec. 3 from the Calloway Building at 120 W. Trinity Place in Decatur. The van was left unlocked with the keys in the ignition and a full tank of gas, police said.