Nelson man
fights off home intruder
CHERIE
SIVIGNON
December 22, 2017
A Nelson man
who woke up to find an intruder in his house wrestled with the man who was
threatening to stab him.
"I'm
very grateful my partner and the kids weren't there and they never had to see
anything," said the resident, who declined to be named. "I'm a big
boy; I can handle myself but ... the kids."
The resident
said he was woken about 2.30am on Tuesday to a noise in his home at the Wood.
He got up to investigate and saw a glow like torchlight coming from his spare
room. The resident went in to find a man in the room.
"I told
him to get the f... out of my house."
The pair
started to exchange blows, the resident said.
"He
said: 'I'll stab you, I'll stab you."
The resident
said he saw no knife at the time and the fight continued.
During the
tussle, the man fell back and smashed his arm through a window.
Cut and
bleeding, the man continued to fight, the resident said.
"I
said: 'We can keep doing this or you can get out of my house'."
The man
chose the latter option and left via the front door "squirting blood down
the hallway", the resident said.
Police were
called and arrived quickly, blocking off the area. A dog unit followed a trail.
The resident
said police officers went back into the spare room with him and together and
they found a knife that the resident believed belonged to the man.
"They
were exceptionally good," the resident said of police officers involved.
The resident
said he believed the man had also been in two of three vehicles on his property
but he did not think anything had been taken from the vehicles or the house.
"It was
brazen," the resident said of the incident. "He had to know someone
was in there."
About 1½
hours after police were called, the resident was told a man had been arrested.
The resident
said he understood the alleged offender had been granted bail.
"I'm
frustrated with this," the resident said. "At the end of the day,
these guys shouldn't be at large. He had a knife in my house. I should be able
to sleep in my own bed without harm."
Senior
Sergeant Lyn Fleming confirmed a 19-year-old man had been arrested and charged
with aggravated burglary.
She said he
had been remanded on bail to an address outside of the Nelson area, and would
be back in court in late January.
Police also
confirmed the man arrested was treated for cuts at Nelson Hospital.
