Moment hero dad grabs shovel off violent intruder as he smashes his way into family home - then COMPLETELY turns the tables
A quick-thinking Washington state father turned the tables on an intruder who used a shovel to break into a family's home over the weekend, in a terrifying incident that was captured on the homeowner's surveillance system.
Joey Archer, his wife, Beth, and the couple's young daughters were asleep in their home in Rainier, Washington, on Saturday, when they were awakened by a stranger ringing their doorbell at 6.30am.
'I yelled through the door for him to go out to the gate and I would get dressed and come out to speak with him,' Joey later recounted in a social media post. 'In this process Beth pulled up our cameras and realized the someone had slipped her car into gear, and rolled it out of the driveway, and was in the process of breaking in my car with a shovel.'
Unwelcome guests: Surveillance cameras were rolling when this intruder entered a barn on Joey and Beth Archer's property in Rainier, Washington, early Saturday
The brazen burglar got into Beth Archer's sedan and moved it as the family slept
The perpetrator then grabbed a shovel from the bed of a pickup truck and used it to smash the driver's window
Video from the family's 20 security cameras showed the bearded intruder enter the family's barn, then use a shovel from the bed of a parked pickup truck to smash the driver's window and climb inside.
Meanwhile, the homeowner called the police and kept his eye on the perpetrator as he waited for officers to arrive.
'At that time the person took the shovel and began smashing it against the glass on the front door,' Joey wrote.
Determined to prevent the stranger from entering his house, Joey managed to wrest the shovel out of the suspect's hands through the damaged door and strike him with it twice.
Video from the yard shows the intruder looking disoriented and cowering in fear before the homeowner wielding the shovel.
Moments later, Thurston County sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene and took the burglar into custody.
Joey Archer was awakened by the noise coming from his yard and called the police (pictured)
When the intruder smashed the front door with the shovel, Joey jumped into action, wrested the digging instrument from the suspect's hands and hit him with it
Archer led the bearded man into the yard while threatening him with the shovel
For six minutes, the homeowner kept the intruder at bay while waiting for cops to arrive
The homeowner's video ends with the bearded intruder being led away from the property in handcuffs.
The unnamed man, who lives not far from the Archer family, was charged with residential burglary, criminal trespassing and vehicle prowl.
Speaking to KIRO7 this week, Joey described the incident as 'every dad's worst nightmare.'
Beth said in the six minutes it took for police to arrive on the scene, her husband had no choice but to defend their family, including their terrified and crying children.
'The only choice was to defeat the challenger, was to fight back, was to disable this person who was threatening my family,' Joey told the station.
The father later wrote on his Facebook page that the harrowing ordeal has left their family traumatized.
'Beth and I are both riding the roller coaster of emotion that this sort of experience puts your through,' he stated. 'I haven't been able to bring myself to watch THAT footage and it's already too much for me that [my daughters] were brought into this whole madness.'
Sheriff's deputies took the man into custody, charging him with burglary, criminal trespassing and vehicle prowl
Joey and Beth Archer are seen recounting their harrowing experience for a local TV station days after the burglary
Joey also explained that he has decided to share the video of the break-in in part because he was 'teased' for having so many cameras on his property.
'I enjoy technology and in this case it served it's purpose in recording everything that occurred,' he wrote.
During the KIRO7 interview, the father said he now plans to buy a shotgun and a pistol, and to upgrade his security and surveillance systems.
A friend has launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking donations to help the Archer family repair some of the damage to their property that was caused by the intruder.
