Fraser

Fraser man apprehends alleged home invader

By Nico Rubello
C & G Staff Writer

Arms

FRASER — A word of caution to all would-be burglars: Steer clear of Tom Shock’s house.

Shock, 50, and his cousin held down a thief at Shock’s Fraser home while they waited for Fraser Public Safety officers to arrive, he said.

The incident started when Shock woke around 4:45 a.m. the morning of Jan. 15 to find his doorwall open, items missing from his fireplace mantle and his TV unplugged from the wall, he said.

After assessing the situation and speaking with his cousin, who was living there in the interim of moving to a new house, Shock called 911 to report a home invasion, believing the intruders had already left.

While on the phone with the dispatcher, he heard his dog bark in the direction of his home office. Still on the phone with police dispatchers, he peered in to see a man, wearing a ski mask, crouching under his piano, he said.

Shock said, “He’s still here,” and dropped the phone, he recalled.

The burglar stood up and pulled a knife, so Shock made a split-second decision and pulled the French doors to the office closed, Shock said. With Shock, soon joined by his cousin, holding the office doors shut, the suspect stepped back into the room, he said.

That’s when Shock and his cousin began to tussle with the man, eventually freeing his grasp on the knife. Things “got a little physical when we apprehended him,” Shock said.

Shock said that police arrived within minutes and arrested the man, found to be Stephen Arms, of Fraser.

Arms is charged with home invasion and assault with a dangerous weapon, among other things, according to court records.

Police executing a search warrant later found medication from Shock’s home in Arms’ residence, said Lt. Dan Kolke, of the Fraser Department of Public Safety. Shock said Arms lived within eyesight of his house.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Nico Rubello at nrubello@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1118.