Man uses knife to scare away car burglar

Kyle Courson says he saw thief breaking into his truck at Pearl, Ashley streets

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local man said he used a knife to scare away a thief he caught breaking into his truck at the intersection of Pearl and Ashley streets Saturday night.

Kyle Courson told News4Jax he displayed his aquatic T-Rex knife when he confronted the car burglar.

"I saw the door was ajar and I saw the guy was in it, so I pulled my knife out, and when I grabbed the door, I opened it out and I said, 'What are you doing in my truck? I want everything back that you took,' and the center console was flipped up and he had just started rummaging through everything in there," he recounted Friday.

Courson said the car burglar was shocked when he displayed the knife. 

"I literally saw the color drain from his face," Courson said. "His eyes went from being as big as that to as big as he could hold them open."

He said the thief quickly turned over items he tried to steal from inside his truck.

"He pulled his bag out and handed it to me, and I poured it out on the hood of my truck, and when I got everything that was mine back, he took off running, and I decided not to go after him because I had gotten all my stuff back," Courson said.

Courson said his doors were locked, but he noticed a window on the passenger side of his truck had been smashed. He said he saw another car parked nearby had been broken into, but he said he feels he caught the thief just in time.

He told News4Jax that he was nervous when he confronted the car burglar. 

"Yes, ma'am. To be honest with you, I am a large individual, but you never know what to expect from people, and I did catch him by surprise and he knew he was committing a crime, so there's no telling how he would have reacted," Courson said.

Courson said he hopes that was the last time the thief tries to break into someone's car. Courson said a tire iron was left in the back seat, which the thief used to break into his truck. Courson said police took it as evidence to check for fingerprints.

Courson also said the only thing the thief got away with was his driver's license.

News4Jax has contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, requesting the investigative report.


About the Author:

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.