Cedar Rapids Woman Chases Down Would-be Burglar

By Josh Hinkle. Anchor/Reporter

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By Becky Ogann

Story Created: Apr 8, 2008 at 1:19 PM CST

Story Updated: Apr 8, 2008 at 4:30 PM CST

CEDAR RAPIDS - Police say one would-be burglar didn't know what he was getting into this week. They took 16-year-old Jake Merfeld to the Linn County Detention Center. He now faces a second degree burglary charge and might have also gotten quite a headache all because he chose to break into the house at 426 35th St. SE.

Derdre Rodriguez came home for lunch, but inside she realized she wasn't alone. She had no idea who the other person was, and that's when her instinct to fight back kicked in.

Rodriguez says, "He was pretty shocked. The look on his face was where do I run?"

She says she caught the burglar slipping out her son's bedroom window onto the back deck. What he hadn't bargained for was breaking into a former pro-boxer's house.

"Yeah, I was saying a lot to him, especially when he was running out of gas, telling him what I was going to do to him once I caught him."

A decade since her boxing career ended, Rodriguez still keeps in shape by hitting the gym as much as she can.

"I was so angry. I wanted to throw something at him and when I grabbed this, I just kept it in my hand and when he went over the fence, I just went over after him."

She says the burglar broke part of the fence on his way over and landed in the neighbors' yard. That gave her a chance to catch up. She jumped the fence herself, dialed 911, and chased him down the block still clutching the ice chipper in her hand.

"Gave him one swat with this to the head and he pretty much stayed down after that."

Rodriguez dragged the burglar back to her house, forcing him to pick up a Playstation 3, a PSP, cell phones and video games -- the stolen items he dropped along the way.

"And then he asked me, 'You want me to go back into the house?' I said, 'Go back in the house and lay on the floor now.'"

Police arrived within minutes, then took the burglar to the hospital for his head injury. Rodriguez says even with her boxing background, she's glad for the police backup.

"It's hard to call 911 when you're jumping over fences and running after the guy, so yeah definitely call 911 first."

Rodriguez invested in an alarm system today. This burglar came in through her son's bedroom window, the only one that was actually unlocked. So she also suggests locking every door and window before leaving your house.

Email Josh Hinkle at Josh.Hinkle@kcrg.com

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