Wednesday, July 25, 2012

BLENHEIM, S.C. (AP) -- An 89-year-old South Carolina widow surprised and chased off two burglars who broke into her home by using a fully-loaded .38 caliber pistol she pulled from under her mattress.

Marlboro County Sheriff Fred Knight told the Florence Morning News he arrived at Ruby Hodge's home Monday morning after she'd used her lifeline emergency device to call authorities.

Knight says 42-year-old Nelson Hawkins of Darlington and 31-year-old Ronnie Stevenson of Lydia were apprehended after a passerby saw a vehicle in Hodge's driveway and took down the license plate number.

Hodge told the paper two men broke in through her back door and they ran away after she confronted them with the gun. The widow says the weapon belonged to her late husband, who died 22 years ago.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)