The accused burglar was found dead following an unusual turn of events. (Representational Image)
In a bizarre incident in the US, a burglar was found dead after a 68-year-old mobile homeowner tired of robberies captured the intruder and tied him to a tree with multiple layers of masking tape on his mouth.
The accused burglar was found dead following an unusual turn of events after the homeowner caught him breaking into his residence in Leroy, Alabama, Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer said.
Nathanial Johnson, 68, set a trap in an attempt to stop a string of burglaries at his mobile home, Stringer was quoted as saying by AL.com.
Johnson parked his vehicle at a neighbour's place on Friday night, went back to his home and waited.
Sometime before midnight, Johnson told sheriff's deputies he heard someone knock on the front door of his home. When he did not answer, the person went to the back door and broke the lock.
Johnson told police he came face-to-face with the burglar, identified as Cleveland Jones Gully, 31, at the door and chased him outside.
Stringer said Gully, who has a reputation for breaking into houses, then either fell or jumped off the back steps of the mobile home.
That is when Johnson jumped on Gully and tied his hands behind his back, he said.
Johnson used "multiple layers of masking tape that he had wrapped around his mouth and all the way around his head," Stringer told WALA-TV.
He wrapped Gully to the tree with insulated electrical tape and clothesline, he said.
Johnson told police he then went back to his neighbour's house and called police.
"(Gully) was still alive at that point, and there was no indication that he was dying," Stringer said.
When sheriff's deputies arrived about 10 minutes later, though, Gully was dead, he said.
Stringer said Gully did not have any visible injuries except for cuts around his body from the wire. An autopsy will be performed to determine cause of death, he said.
No criminal charges have yet been filed against Johnson, and Stringer was not sure if any will be in the future. "We will probably present it to the grand jury to see what they say about it," Stringer said.