Gardner man, 70, subdues intruder

GARDNER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A 70-year-old Gardner resident says he laid a beating on a 24-year-old man who smashed through a window in his home Saturday.

Mike Salame tells FOX 25 he heard loud banging outside his home at about 3 a.m. Saturday and thought it was a bear. When he got up to look outside and did not see anything.

Salame then looked in front of his home and saw a man falling over trash barrels. He went to call the police and when he turned around the man was inside the house. The 70-year-old says the man smashed through a window and entered through his breezeway.

Salame says he grabbed the intruder, later identified as 24-year-old Timothy Adams, and hit him three times. He says he used the braces he wears on his arms for arthritis like boxing gloves.

Timothy Adams is charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime to commit a felony and destruction of property in the home invasion. Adams reportedly told Salame he was in the wrong house and offered him money to release him.

While FOX 25's Ted Daniel was at Salame's home Wednesday, Adams' soon-to-be stepfather visited the home to apologize on behalf of the family. He said Adams feels very bad for the incident.

Adams was released on personal recognizance at his arraignment Tuesday. He will be back in court on June 26.

Cox Media Group