One Colorado Springs woman responded by screaming -- loudly -- as captured on a police recording below. And the tactic worked, as cops managed to collar a pair of accused home invaders as they attempted to flee from the scene.
Fox31 chose not to identify the woman in the text version of the report, also viewable here, but she's heard calling herself Meg. As she saw two men approaching her home, on the 4200 block of Marlow Circle in Colorado Springs, at around noon on Wednesday, she took refuge in a closet as she dialed 911.
In the beginning, as you'll hear, her voice is fairly calm. But as it becomes clear that the men have actually entered the residence, she first begins to whisper descriptions of the scofflaws in answer to the operator's questions before hushing up entirely -- for a while.
Then, just past the five minute mark on the recording below, the men discover where she's hiding, and she lets out a series of shrieks, accompanied by repeated demands to "Get out of here!"
The men -- later ID'd as James Esquibel and Justin Belcher and charged with burglary -- do as ordered, sprinting from the house -- and directly toward police officers who've just shown up. The obviously relieved woman offers play-by-play of their capture, then says, "I hope I did okay."
Obviously, she did. The operator admits that the verbal explosion made her heart stop -- and with luck, Esquibel and Belcher had the same reaction.
Here's the audio recording, which is complete with the exception of the woman's phone number; we've edited that out. It's followed by the Fox31 report.
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More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Jasmine Fike: 15-year-old accused abduction faker captured on E. Colfax despite disguise."
