Muskogee Business Owner Says He Shot Intruder Inside His Shop

A Green Country business owner says he stood his ground, shooting an intruder after a string of costly break-ins.

The owner showed News On 6 around his shop and said the whole thing is a blur, but the 911 call speaks for itself.

"I've caught a burglar in my shop," Dale Ford said to the 911 dispatcher.

Fast Wrecker owner Ford didn't just catch a burglar in his shop.

"I've got him pinned down right now, I've got a gun on him. He's here in my shop," Ford said.

Ford called 911 just before 2:30 Thursday morning, April 11, 2013. In the recording, he's a little winded, but sounds calm considering the circumstances. He even talks to the intruder.

But Ford told us he's never been so scared in his life.

"Did I hit ya?" he asked the intruder. "He said I hit him in his arm. It's just a .22, you ought to send an ambulance."

The owner of Fast Wrecker didn't want to go on camera, but he told us he's been dealing with a lot of theft there and said he'd had enough Thursday morning.

"I got broke into a week ago and some stuff got stolen, so I've been sleeping down here. I just thought somebody would come back," Ford said.

He said thieves stole about $1,000 worth of car parts last week. And that's just one of many of the break-ins he said he's had to deal in the past few years.

So, to protect his business, he's been sleeping on an air mattress in the back of his shop on-and-off for quite some time.

He said he thinks Thursday morning's intruder had been there before, because he knew exactly how to get in. But when he did, Ford didn't waste any time taking action.

"I got a burglar inside here," Ford said to the dispatcher. "I hit him in the arm, he said. I'm still talking to him. I made him lay down, he was trying to run away on me."

Ford said the intruder told him he was looking for his brother. The suspect, Joseph Carpenter, was taken to the hospital, but has not been arrested.

Police say they are investigating the incident and will send their report to the district attorney.