By Joe Johnson
An Athens couple reportedly fended off a home invader Wednesday night by keeping him from entering their apartment.
According to an Athens-Clarke County police report, officers responded at about 9:23 p.m. to report of a home invasion at an apartment on Carriage Court in the Clarke Gardens housing complex.
They met there with a 58-year-old resident who said when he returned home from running an errand, two males he recognized from them hanging out at the complex – one white and the other black, who the resident knew as “Henry” -- were sitting on the steps of his building, according to the police report.
The resident said that soon after entering his apartment, he heard knocking at the door and someone asking for cigarettes, and when he opened the door, he immediately received a blast of pepper spray and a black suspect tried to shove open the door, according to the report, which noted the suspect was holding a small silver revolver.
The intruder reportedly said, “Let me in before I shoot” and “Just give up the stuff, man,”
and upon hearing the commotion, the apartment’s 40-year-old female resident ran to the door and helped her companion close and lock the door, at which time the suspect fled the scene.
The suspect was described as 5-foot-10 with a “skinny” build who wore all black and concealed his face with a red bandana, according to the report, which noted that two children were in a back bedroom during the incident.
The male resident declined treatment by EMS for pepper spray exposure.