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Boy, 14, hits burglar with bat inside Mesa home
A 14-year-old boy came face-to-face with a burglar ransacking his Mesa home on Tuesday and used a baseball bat to level the playing field.
Michael Six hid in his bedroom closet and called 911 after seeing the man using a screwdriver to break into a back sliding glass door about 8:30 a.m.
The Kino Jr. High ninth-grader stayed calm and talked in a low voice as he described the burglar's where-abouts as he moved through the house. At one point, speaking in a near-whisper, he said he heard the man going through his mother's jewelry box in a nearby bedroom.
Then Michael, clutching an aluminum baseball bat, heard his locked bedroom door rattle as the man used the screwdriver to bust in.
“You need to get out of the window,†the 911 operater told Michael. “I can't,†he answered, a hint of anxiety in his voice.
"I didn't know what to do,†Michael said Wednesday, the day after the incident. “I didn't think I could pop (the window) open. My adrenaline was running. I was scared.â€
The man was still clutching the screwdriver as he bent over and rummaged through the boy's backpack. Then Michael, a 5-foot, 10-inch, 150-pound former baseball player, stepped out and swung.
The burglar cursed as Michael nailed him on the lower back and on the left shoulder.
“Sorry, man!†Michael yelled amid the chaos. The man, who Michael described as “big,†then “turned around and took (the bat) from me," he said.
The burglar immediately ran out the back door as Michael busted through the screen of his bedroom window and met police outside. He was not injured.
It took police just over five minutes to arrive, but Michael said, “It felt pretty fast – like two minutes."
Michael's father, Randy Six, praised his son's calm under pressure.
"He was trapped, and you know what you do when you get backed up in a corner – you come out swinging."
Police arrested Thomas Gonzales Garza, 30, of Chandler in a nearby backyard.
Garza, who police said confessed to the burglary, faces charges of residential burglary, aggravated assault on a minor, criminal trespassing and criminal damage.
He was not seriously injured and did not need medical attention, police said
A 14-year-old boy came face-to-face with a burglar ransacking his Mesa home on Tuesday and used a baseball bat to level the playing field.
Michael Six hid in his bedroom closet and called 911 after seeing the man using a screwdriver to break into a back sliding glass door about 8:30 a.m.
The Kino Jr. High ninth-grader stayed calm and talked in a low voice as he described the burglar's where-abouts as he moved through the house. At one point, speaking in a near-whisper, he said he heard the man going through his mother's jewelry box in a nearby bedroom.
Then Michael, clutching an aluminum baseball bat, heard his locked bedroom door rattle as the man used the screwdriver to bust in.
“You need to get out of the window,†the 911 operater told Michael. “I can't,†he answered, a hint of anxiety in his voice.
"I didn't know what to do,†Michael said Wednesday, the day after the incident. “I didn't think I could pop (the window) open. My adrenaline was running. I was scared.â€
The man was still clutching the screwdriver as he bent over and rummaged through the boy's backpack. Then Michael, a 5-foot, 10-inch, 150-pound former baseball player, stepped out and swung.
The burglar cursed as Michael nailed him on the lower back and on the left shoulder.
“Sorry, man!†Michael yelled amid the chaos. The man, who Michael described as “big,†then “turned around and took (the bat) from me," he said.
The burglar immediately ran out the back door as Michael busted through the screen of his bedroom window and met police outside. He was not injured.
It took police just over five minutes to arrive, but Michael said, “It felt pretty fast – like two minutes."
Michael's father, Randy Six, praised his son's calm under pressure.
"He was trapped, and you know what you do when you get backed up in a corner – you come out swinging."
Police arrested Thomas Gonzales Garza, 30, of Chandler in a nearby backyard.
Garza, who police said confessed to the burglary, faces charges of residential burglary, aggravated assault on a minor, criminal trespassing and criminal damage.
He was not seriously injured and did not need medical attention, police said
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