LA PUENTE, Ca. -- An 83-year-old man who'd had enough pushed an intruder off of his roof after a nearly five-hour standoff with police.
It all started at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when someone called 911 reporting they were being followed, KTLA reports. That's when police found a man jumping from one rooftop to another as he tried to run from them.
The chase lasted several hours, despite a crisis negotiator who tried to convince the suspect to come down.
Then, the man arrived at the rooftop of 83-year-old Wilford Burgess.
"He wasn’t staying in one place," Burgess told KTLA, describing the man's movement from home to home. "He’d be on one edge and then around on the other parts."
He was on Burgess' roof for about an hour before the homeowner decided to go up after him.
Burgess climbed a ladder to the roof, and pushed the man off and into the custody of police.
"He'd been up there too long," said Burgess. "I figured...if they can't get him off, I can."
Burgess' granddaughter, Ashley Wrenn, recorded the incident on her cell phone.
"He's like the strongest person in our family," she said. "It wasn't a surprise to us."
When you reach 70 years of life...from that time on don't fuck with a 70+ human being...they should get a pass no matter what and you get what you asked for (I've got 5 more years...so watch out and don't come on my roof!)...I'm getting mean in my advancing years and KARMA is a bitch (and real)
"we've gotta roll with the punches, learn to play all of our hunches Making the best of what ever comes our way Forget that blind ambition and learn to trust your intuition Plowing straight ahead come what may And theres a cowboy in the jungle" Jimmy Buffet
September 14, 2017, 12:28 AM
Rey HRH
I'm very impressed.
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
September 14, 2017, 02:31 AM
KevinCW
I think i would like to have a beer with that man.
Strive to live your life so when you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, the devil says "Oh crap, he's up."
September 14, 2017, 02:38 AM
CD228
Get off my roof!
September 14, 2017, 04:24 AM
Cliff
Badass.
"All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."
--Sir Winston Churchill
"The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise they will win and the decent people will lose."
--James Earl Jones
September 14, 2017, 05:39 AM
Sauer Kraut
Most awesome news story I've seen in a long time. Don't mess with Grandpa
September 14, 2017, 06:02 AM
spunk639
I'm shocked the California police didn't arrest him, way to go.
September 14, 2017, 06:21 AM
prairieviper
I would have been even more impressed if the police would have just gone up and got him in the first place and not let it go on for five hours.
"In God We Trust"
September 14, 2017, 07:23 AM
HayesGreener
I can relate. The little bastard on the roof and all the commotion was interfering with his nap, or his breakfast, and he had just had enough. Good for him!
CMSGT USAF (Retired) Chief of Police (Retired)
September 14, 2017, 08:03 AM
SIG4EVA
It pleases me greatly to see that.
SIG556 Classic P220 Carry SAS Gen 2 SAO SP2022 9mm German Triple Serial P938 SAS P365 FDE
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it"
September 14, 2017, 08:34 AM
sgalczyn
Shows that some snowflakes DO NOT fall gently......lol
"No matter where you go - there you are"
September 14, 2017, 08:41 AM
Georgeair
quote:
"He'd been up there too long," said Burgess. "I figured...if they can't get him off, I can."
Outstanding.
You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02
September 14, 2017, 08:43 AM
roberth
Fantastic!!
September 14, 2017, 09:16 AM
rusbro
Old-man strength is a known thing. Old guys might not be able to go for long, but they can often bring a hell of a lot to the fight right up front, so that's what they do.
September 14, 2017, 09:22 AM
vinnybass
Gramps was overheard saying, "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."
"We're all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house. Birth 'til death. We travel between the eternities."
September 14, 2017, 09:26 AM
Elk Hunter
quote:
Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk: When you reach 70 years of life...from that time on don't fuck with a 70+ human being...they should get a pass no matter what and you get what you asked for (I've got 5 more years...so watch out and don't come on my roof!)...I'm getting mean in my advancing years and KARMA is a bitch (and real)
I am nearly 80. Bad knees. Too old to run, but still too mean to quit!
Elk
There has never been an occasion where a people gave up their weapons in the interest of peace that didn't end in their massacre. (Louis L'Amour)
"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. " -Thomas Jefferson
"America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Alexis de Tocqueville
FBHO!!!
The Idaho Elk Hunter
September 14, 2017, 10:15 AM
hudr
I can hear him talking quietly, under his breath, to himself the whole time... "grumble grumble...trying to drink my tea on the porch....grumble grumble...knocking shingles off....grumble...make me climb this ladder....grumble.."
