An ordinary citizen with a gun:A 22-year-old car theft suspect tried to elude police Tuesday morning, but was stopped in his tracks when he was confronted by a gun-toting 64-year-old woman.
"I was not going to let him go," said Karen Granville, who lives on Redwood Street. "I just held my gun in my right hand until the police arrested him."
Granville helped authorities nab Roderick Willis after he led them on a short chase. He was suspected of driving a stolen vehicle, authorities said.
Daytona Beach police were looking for a stolen vehicle about 3 a.m. Tuesday when a Volusia County sheriff's deputy spotted an orange Dodge Charger traveling west on Sixth Street. The deputy tried to stop the vehicle, but a chase quickly ensued, according to a report from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
A sheriff's helicopter tracked the suspect to Redwood Street, where deputies say Willis ditched the vehicle in the driveway in front of Granville's home.
Granville said she was up late because her cat had rousted her. She was watching the Bravo channel when she heard a sheriff's helicopter hovering above her house.
Moments later, she said she saw Willis run into her backyard and try to scale her fence. Granville grabbed her .38 Special revolver and followed him.
"My adrenaline was just flowing at 100 mph," she said. "I just said, 'Stop right there (expletive), or you're going to be dead where you stand."
Granville held the man at gunpoint until police arrived.
Wes Messamore,
Editor in Chief, THL
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