Richmond man takes down accused burglar

Local News

September 22, 2011

By Kelly McKinney Register News Writer The Richmond Register Thu Sep 22, 2011, 12:00 PM EDT

RICHMOND — What he thought would be a quiet trip to his storage shed Tuesday night ended with a Richmond man holding an accused burglar on the ground while waiting for police.

The 54-year-old man, who did not wish to be identified, said an alarm sounded as he passed Dale’s Auto Service on Main Street. When he turned around to investigate, he heard glass breaking at the business.

Then he saw something black on the counter inside.

“At first I thought it was a cat,” he said. “Then I realized a cat couldn’t have broken the glass. I looked closer and realized it was a cap on a man’s head. He was crouching behind the counter.”

Two men standing across the street who also had heard the glass shattering called police, so he thought he would just wait there until they showed, the former firefighter said.

But the alleged burglar was not going to hang around.

He headed toward the back of the business, where his soon-to-be captor felt certain he would escape out a back door.

The retired firefighter went around to the rear of the building. It was pitch black, but he was prepared.

“I happened to be wearing a ball cap that has two high-intensity lights on the front of it,” he said, adding that he bought the hat at Lowe’s. “I clicked those on long enough to orient myself, and then turned them off.”

He did not see the man come out of the auto service store, so he settled in to wait him out.

“Then I heard footsteps on the gravel, and I thought, ‘Heck, he’s going to be here in a minute,’” he said.

That’s when the 54-year-old pulled his gun out of its holster.

“I flicked that light on right at him, and told him, ‘You see that gun? It’s pointed right at your chest,’” he said. “Then I told him to set down what he was holding.”

The accused thief complied, setting down what police say was a cash box taken out of the store.

But, when he was told to lie on the ground, the alleged thief decided not to listen.

“He was kind of drunk,” the good Samaritan said. “I don’t know if he just didn’t want to cooperate or if he didn’t understand.”

Whatever the reason, the alleged burglar started to walk away.

The former firefighter grabbed his shirt and pulled him to the ground, he said.

“Then I got on top of him and held his arms down. He put his palms down on the ground like he was going to get up, so I told him if he did I was going to choke him. Then he just relaxed and waited for the police.”

Officers arrived no more than two minutes later.

They arrested Michael L. Culton, 46, of Richmond.

The man responsible for keeping him there was just doing what he thinks anyone would do, he said.

“If you see a person who is smaller than you coming out of your neighbor’s house, you’re probably going to stop them if you can. Now, if it was a team of hardened crooks, you’ll probably just sit back.”

Crime is everywhere, he said. In fact, he has held people for police twice before. One was a teenage boy who stole DVDs from a video rental store, and the other was a man who stuffed boxes of chocolates down his shirt at a drug store.

His training in firearms and self-defense enables him to step in and help in a lot of situations, he said.

“Now, if I know I’m in over my head, I’m not going to do it,” he said. “But, if I don’t feel I’m in any danger, I will.”

Culton was charged with third-degree burglary, a Class D felony. He is being held in the Madison County Detention Center in lieu of a $10,000 bond, according to the jail’s website.

If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.

Kelly McKinney can be reached at kmckinney@

richmondregister.com or 624-6694.

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