German Township, Ohio — Every guy tries to justify having one, but for Richard Winegardner, his ‘shower gun’ might have saved his life.
Richard Winegardner’s home had been burglarized four times since May, but neither he nor the police ever caught the bad guys in the act.
But on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, Winegardner was in the shower when he heard somebody in his home.
He jumped out of the shower, and called 911 from his cell phone, and then pulled his ‘shower gun’ out of his gym bag.
The tape hasn’t been released, but police report that during the 911 call, Winegardner was trying to confront the burglar while still giving the dispatcher correct information.
Finally, he yelled, “I’m being robbed right now!”
He held the man at gunpoint for as long he could — which caught the stranger off-guard.
Winegardner went on, “(He) tried to talk me into believing he was a great guy and he wasn’t here to cause me any problems — which I found odd because he already broke into the house,” Winegardner told the News-Sun.
Just a moment later, gunshots are heard on the phone call.
The burglar had taken a risk and ran out of the house and tried to get into his getaway car, a gray SUV.
Winegardner reported that he fired shots at the SUV, trying to shoot out the tires.
The fleeing suspect didn’t get far, since police were already on the way.
They found him at an intersection and arrested him.
Authorities identified the burglar as 38-year-old Jason Moak.
They seemed to believe that Moak was responsible for the other burglaries at Winegarden’s house because cameras outside Winegardner’s house showed the same gray SUV parked outside during the other break-ins.
It’s not a great idea to have shot at a fleeing suspect, though, so it’s a darn good thing Winegardner missed Moak, or this story would have a very different ending for the homeowner.
But now we have the justification for the shower gun we’ve always wanted!