Washington County Homeowner Chases Suspects After Attempted Burglary

A woman who was home sick from work said she was terrified when two men tried to break in by kicking down her door.

Morgan and Amanda Mitchell's Washington County home was burglarized a couple of months ago. A break-in happened again Thursday morning, but this time, Amanda was home, and scared.

"It was awful," Amanda said.

Since her husband only works a couple miles away, she called him, then called 911.

"They were trying to get to my wife. I was in fear for my family," Morgan said.

A little later, 23-year-old Markall McCarter was arrested, along with 63-year-old Earl Lacy.

How they were caught is a little out of the ordinary. Morgan got there in minutes, before deputies. He blocked the men from getting away, but then had second thoughts about that.

"I thought, well, maybe they had a gun. I didn't have my gun, I left it with her, or I would have stopped them," Morgan said.

So, Morgan gave chase over mile after mile of county roads at high speeds, meanwhile managing to get the tag number and give a 911 operator precise details on their location.

"I know the country like the back of my hand," Morgan said.

A Nowata County deputy and OHP trooper were waiting and arrested the two men, who are now in the Washington County jail.

"I was at the point I was going to run them off the road," Morgan said.

Sheriff Rick Silver said Lacy has an extensive criminal history.

"His criminal history dates back to 1965. His criminal history is 22 pages long," Silver said.

The sheriff said, if the men had made it into the house, someone likely would have been hurt or killed.

Amanda is relieved arrests were made, and her husband made it to her rescue so quickly.

"I think if it was another minute they would have been in," Amanda said. "I would have shot them, my gun was ready. I absolutely would have shot both of them."

"I'm very relieved they're off the streets, I hope they stay off the streets," Morgan said.

The couple isn't sure, but they suspect the men may be the same ones who burglarized their home two months ago, getting away with $20,000 worth of valuables.