A homeowner in Washington County, AL is in jail after police say his elaborate plan to capture a burglar went terribly wrong on Friday night.
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“I would say this is a very unusual case”, Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer told WALA about the weird death from Friday night.
Gully – who reportedly already has a reputation for breaking into people’s homes – then either fell or jumped from the back steps of the mobile home. Using electrical wire, clothesline and masking tape, Johnson then tied the burglar to the tree. Around midnight he Cleveland Jones Gully break the lock on his back door.
But when sheriff’s deputies arrived at Johnson’s home 10 minutes later, Stringer said, Gully was dead. Stringer said Johnson devised a plan to make it appear as though no one was home at his house on Friday night and then waited for the burglar to show up.
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The homeowner, whom news reports identified as Nathanial Johnson, 68, told authorities that his home had been burgled several times.
“I don’t think he was intending to kill the intruder”, Stringer told WALA.
Authorities say the man had duct tape over his mouth while tied to this tree.
“He doesn’t bother anybody”, she said, referring to her uncle.
‘He’ll help you if you need helping, so the family just hates what happened, ‘ she told WALA.
According to investigators, Johnson said he surprised Gully after he broke into his home on Spurgeon Road. I know the other guy. “He just wasn’t a violent person that I know of”. His family is hurting too, but we are also and we hate that, and I hope that we can just get this resolved soon’. Stringer said that an autopsy will be performed on Gully’s body to determine the cause of death. He is being held on a 72-hour investigation.
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Stringer said they will most likely present the case to the grand jury to see what they have to say about it.
