WEST SALEM, Ohio - A West Salem man was able to save his ATV and two dirt bikes by chasing two theft suspects and shooting out the tires on their pickup truck.
According to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, two men stole the vehicles, along with a trailer, from a barn in the 10000 block of Flemming Road in West Salem at about 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.
As they were pulling away with the trailer attached to a Ford F-150, the homeowner, 46-year-old Bert Leasure took action.
He grabbed his 12 gauge shotgun, started chasing the truck and called 911.
"I said, 'I'm in pursuit of these guys that broke into my barn," Leasure said.
The suspects pulled into a yard on Ruff Road and tried to ditch the trailer, but Leasure said he caught up and fired three to five shots into a back tire and a front tire.
"I ended up catching them after miles. I was behind them and they were trying to lose me on every country road they could and then I got out there and they pulled in this lady's front yard and I ended up shooting two tires out with my shotgun," said Leasure. "I said, 'This is where it's going to stop', so I went pow, pow."
Deputies said the suspects—identified as 21-year-old Brandon Friedlein of Barberton and 23-year-old Justin Adler of Smithville—kept driving, but the truck became disabled near the intersection of Pine Street and East-West Salem Road in Creston.
Leasure, who continued to follow the truck, said a Creston Police officer happened to be in the area and arrested the two suspects.
"We obey the laws just like you or me, but you don't take people's stuff like that," Leasure said. "I'm just tired of it."
The Sheriff's Office said Friedlein and Adler have since been released and charges are pending.
According to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, two men stole the vehicles, along with a trailer, from a barn in the 10000 block of Flemming Road in West Salem at about 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.
As they were pulling away with the trailer attached to a Ford F-150, the homeowner, 46-year-old Bert Leasure took action.
He grabbed his 12 gauge shotgun, started chasing the truck and called 911.
"I said, 'I'm in pursuit of these guys that broke into my barn," Leasure said.
The suspects pulled into a yard on Ruff Road and tried to ditch the trailer, but Leasure said he caught up and fired three to five shots into a back tire and a front tire.
"I ended up catching them after miles. I was behind them and they were trying to lose me on every country road they could and then I got out there and they pulled in this lady's front yard and I ended up shooting two tires out with my shotgun," said Leasure. "I said, 'This is where it's going to stop', so I went pow, pow."
Deputies said the suspects—identified as 21-year-old Brandon Friedlein of Barberton and 23-year-old Justin Adler of Smithville—kept driving, but the truck became disabled near the intersection of Pine Street and East-West Salem Road in Creston.
Leasure, who continued to follow the truck, said a Creston Police officer happened to be in the area and arrested the two suspects.
"We obey the laws just like you or me, but you don't take people's stuff like that," Leasure said. "I'm just tired of it."
The Sheriff's Office said Friedlein and Adler have since been released and charges are pending.
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