Father Scares Away Mableton Burglary Suspect

A father took matters into his own hands when a Smyrna man allegedly broke into his son's Mableton home.

Just before 7:30 a.m. March 2, the father saw a large pickup truck parked in the driveway of his son's Timberland Drive home, police said.

The home was unoccupied at the time, and there was no work scheduled to be performed on the house. The father saw Harold Craig Anderson of Smyrna exit the front door of his son's house and confronted him.

Armed with a handgun, the father fired a round into the ground, police said.

"The suspect left the scene abandoning the truck," according to an arrest warrant that was issued on Friday.

A copper pipe had been cut from the ceiling in the basement and found stacked in the living room, according to the warrant.

When police located Anderson, he denied that he ever went inside the home. Cell phone records revealed that he was in the area, police said.

According to online jail records, Anderson has been in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center since May 15 on charges that include willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer, driving with a suspended or revoked license, driving under the influence of drugs, expired tag, no brake lights or working turn signals, and giving false name, address or birthdate to a law enforcement officer.

He faces a new charge of first-degree burglary under the new warrant.