Washington homeowner Eric Smith detailed Monday on Fox News the shocking story of how a pair of thieves, attempting to break into his car, hit him with their getaway vehicle after confronting them.
Smith appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” to discuss his encounter with two alleged serial car prowlers who he caught going through his pickup truck on April 3, according to Fox13. Fox host Laura Ingraham asked the homeowner why he confronted the thieves over his car.
“I think I had the mentality, the mindset, that I didn’t want this to happen to me. I keep seeing it. It’s a growing issue. It’s growing popularity of criminal activity in the area. As soon as I saw my truck door open I was like no, it’s not going to happen to me,” Smith stated.
Smith’s home security camera video begins by showing a red car waiting in the street as a second thief can be seen inside Smith’s truck. (RELATED: Toronto Police Dept Told Car Owners To Leave Fobs Near Front Door So They’re Easier To Steal)
Smith then can be seen running into view of the camera and triggering the thief in the car to attempt to get away, however, Smith grabs onto him before he can get in the car. As the second thief struggles to get out of the homeowner’s grip, the thief driving can be seen pulling away from the two before making a b-line for Smith forcing him onto the hood as they hit the truck.
“As soon as I got my hands on the individual I could tell by his voice, I could tell by how much he weighed, his size, [and] composure I could tell he was young. And from that moment, I was just like okay, I’m just going to hang on to this guy and I’m going to call the police. But things changed very quickly when the driver of the vehicle decided to back up and try to come between us. That’s what exactly happened and I was very, very lucky and fortunate that it ended the way it did,” Smith stated.
The homeowner went on to say that after safely landing off the car he pulled out his phone to record the license plate and attempt to capture the thieves’ faces.
Since 2019, the state of Washington’s violent crime rate has been on an incline, jumping 26% according to a 2023 report from the state’s criminal justice data. In 2022 the data showed there were 261,323 property index crime incidents reported to authorities, giving the state the “highest property crime rate in the region and the 2nd-highest property crime rate in the country.”