Resident cuts would-be car burglar’s bike in half, nails it to a tree

A northeast Fresno man is scoring lots of points with neighbors after he caught a would-be burglar snooping around his car at 2 a.m.

The man, Jason Howell, said he ran up on the guy, catching him off guard.

“He screamed and bolted, but I got his bike,” Howell posted on Nextdoor.com, an Internet-based neighborhood watch website. “If he wants it back, I cut it in half and hung it on a tree.”

Howell called the bifurcated bike a message to other “liked-minded individuals” that they better not come back.

His neighbors on Nextdoor howled with delight.

“Teach them punks a lesson,” one person wrote. Another said, “Well played, sir ...well played, indeed!”

Others pointed out that the victory may be short-lived: “The sad part is they also steal all the bikes they can lay their hands on so I am sure he had another one before you finished cutting up that one.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Resident cuts would-be car burglar’s bike in half, nails it to a tree."