Suspected Car Burglar Caught After Struggling with Victim
MARTIN, Tenn.- James Lee went from burglary victim to vigilante after catching a man breaking into his car and leading police to track him down. For two weeks Martin Police have been searching for the man responsible for breaking into multiple cars stealing thousands of dollars in property. They finally arrested Christian Burgemeier after Lee was able to detain him and give police a description. Ryan Jerrolds car was one of the ones broken into. “They kinda got greedy. They had 2-3 bags kinda more than he could handle,” Jerrolds said. He says his roommate James Lee ran after the burglar and stopped him. The burglaries took place on July 11th just before 6:00 A.M. James Lee says he was returning home from work when he went outside for a cigarette before bed. “I was up a bit later than I usually am and I was like I’m gonna smoke a cigarette go to bed. I come out [the burglar] was in the back of the car bagging stuff up,” he said. Lee said he was furious someone would steal from him and his roommates and decided to act. He ran after the burglar unaware the thief had a knife. “I finally got in front of him and told him ‘ just drop it and go home. Drop it’ and he didn’t want to. Finally he dropped it and he pushed me and we got to scuffling,” Lee says of the confrontation. Lee says he got the thief in a choke hold but he still got away but without his bag of stolen goods. Police say it included items taken from vehicles throughout Lee’s neighborhood. Lee was the only victim who saw the burglar and was able to provide Martin Police a description that led to the arrest of Christian Burgemeier. “[The Police] told me I did a good job, and told me I did good being able to identify him and get all the stuff back ,” Lee said. Lee says while he knew the right thing for him was to act, he cautions others thinking about going after a burglar. “I knew he had his hands full and couldn’t get to me without needing to put something down first. I think I made the right decision but it’s different for everyone,” he said. Burgemeier is being charged with four counts of car theft and burglary. He may face additional charges of assault on Lee.
