Advice from 'Starship Trooper' leads to burglary arrest

July 11– A local man has been charged with burglary after being apprehended Sunday by a shotgun-wielding senior citizen.

Savannah police say the accused, Shane A. Garrard, 46, 80 Beech St., said he entered the house on Harbert Drive because an unidentified man dressed in a "Starship Trooper" Halloween costume told him to go inside and get a drink of water.

According to the incident report, police were dispatched to the home of 76-year-old Ernest Norris at 10:45 a.m. and found Garrard sitting in a chair in the living room and Norris holding a shotgun.

Norris said he got out of the shower and saw Garrard sitting in the chair. He asked his daughter, Aubry Jordan, 48, who the man was and she replied she did not know.

Norris then grabbed his shotgun and kept Garrard in the chair until police arrived.

Jordan and Norris both said they had never seen the intruder before.