Towel-wearing burglary suspect gets punched in face by Florida homeowner, sheriff says

A Florida homeowner is being cheered on social media for his plucky response to finding a stranger in his living room — wrapped in a towel.

He punched the guy in the face, not once, but twice.

The second punch was to keep him from getting away, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened around 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at a home in Fort Myers Beach, and the suspect apparently felt confident enough to take a bathroom break while riffling through cabinets, the sheriff’s office said.

“The homeowner was at a neighbor’s house when he was alerted on his cell phone ... a man with a towel covering his head (was) trying to gain entry to the home,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“The homeowner returned to his residence and confronted the suspect ... in the living room. (The man) ran towards the homeowner, at which point the homeowner struck him in the face.”

The suspect then tried to escape “at which point the homeowner struck him again,” officials say.

Deputies arrived to find a 64-year-old man with a swollen nose, and charged him with “burglary of an occupied dwelling during a state of emergency,” officials said.

The name of the homeowner was not released, but Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno applauded his quick thinking in a Dec. 13 Facebook post.

“I commend this homeowner for his courageous actions while defending his property,” Marceno said.

“With his assistance, my deputies were able to arrest a man targeting those impacted by Hurricane Ian.”

Fort Myers Beach is about 145 miles south of Tampa. Lee County remains in a sate of eergency as the community recovers from the damage caused by Hurricane Ian in September.

This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Towel-wearing burglary suspect gets punched in face by Florida homeowner, sheriff says."