TELFORD, Pa. -
A robber armed with a knife targeted the wrong woman when he tried to get her to drive to an ATM.
An 86-year old woman did something most of us wouldn't have the guts to do. She stood up to an armed robber who was 66 years younger, FOX 29's Chris O'Connell reported.
When 20 year old stranger came to her door with a phony sob story needing a ride, this 86-year-old Souderton woman trusted him.
"I said, 'Can I help you?' And he said, 'I just had this accident with my Camaro.'"
She, along with her 84-year-old neighbor, hopped in her car and gave him a ride to his mother's house a mile away – so she thought.
"As we pulled up, I said to him, 'Do you want to get out here?' And he didn't say anything. And the next thing I know, here's this knife in his hands – a big knife in his hands, this close to me and my neck."
It was a robbery.
"He said, 'Back up to the ATM machine.' He said, 'I want money.' And I said, 'I'm not going up to any ATM machine. I'm taking you to the police station.'"
Little did the 20-year-old punk armed with a 12-inch chef's knife know he was messing with the wrong granny.
"I was strapped in, so I reached over like this to where he had the knife, and I tried to pull it out of his hands," she said.
Yes, the widow still behind the wheel of her gold Chevy not only fought off the robber but drove him straight to the Telford police station, which happened to be next-door to that ATM.
He tried to run away, but police caught him a few minutes later.
Asked why she didn't just give him the money, the woman answered, "Why? Because I was mad. I tried to help somebody, and he's just trying to pull a fast one on me. And that made me mad."
Telford Police Chief Randall Floyd called her a "spunky lady," adding, "Certainly not what we'd recommend people to do. She was tough and she didn't give in."
Telford police arrested 20-year-old Jason Burch on a laundry list of charges, all thanks to a sweet but tough little lady.
As for the suspect, Floyd said the incident "certainly does not bolster his credibility as a criminal."
The police chief added, "Having an 87-year-old and an 84-year-old get one up on you, you need to change careers. You are not just cut out."
Right now, the woman is being hailed a neighborhood hero. And believe it or not, her thoughts go out to her attacker.
"I did feel sorry for him because he's ruined his life," she said.
Burch was released on bail Monday afternoon. Police say he has a criminal history.
