Homeowner catches burglar in act

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - Police say a man who had caught a suspect in the midst of burglarizing his home managed to hold the suspect down until police arrived.

According to Jan Clark with the Portsmouth Police Department, police received a burglary call in the 2100 block of Green Street at 1 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29.

Clark says the call was made while Troy Strahan was pursuing the burglary suspect. When police arrived to the scene, they found Strahan holding down the suspect at the back of the home.

Strahan had left for about an hour at midnight and returned home to see the suspect jumping the fence and fleeing the scene. Clark says the suspect had entered through a window and had taken various electronic devices which police found thrown on the other side of the fence.

"Some of my belongings were laying in the yard," Strahan said. "I instantly dialed 911 and I heard one of the thieves. They were talking, they split-up and one of them ran out back to the chain link fence."\

Strahan ran through neighbor Ricky Harrell's yard.

"I guess if you want to protect your property, you got to make a stand or let 'em go," Harrell said.

Clark says 19-year-old Michael Anthony Faison of Portsmouth was arrested and charged with burglary.

Strahan says another suspect got away with an assault weapon Strahan says he legally owns.