Ravenna, OH – A man in Ohio had quite a surprise when he returned home: He says he found a man in his bed wearing his clothes!
Returning home from work, Monday, Cory Fulst at first didn’t realize anything was wrong at his home.
The front door was locked and he noticed nothing out of the ordinary until he went inside.
“He thought there were some things that maybe were out of place but didn’t pay much attention to it, so he’s going about his normal activities getting home from work and walked into the bedroom and found this gentleman wearing his clothes, the homeowner’s clothes, laying in his bed asleep with the homeowners shot gun laying beside him,” said Portage County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Gregory Johnson.
Johnson identified the intruder as Dustin Sellers Applegate, 31, who gave authorities a Ravenna address but lived most of his life in Colorado.
“He doesnt wake up until the homeowner walks in the bedroom and at that time Mr. Applegate does grab ahold of the shotgun, but the homeowner did react quickly enough to be able to pull the shotgun away from Mr. Applegate at that time,” said Johnson.
The homeowner called 911, keeping Applegate there until deputies arrived.
“What’s he wearing?” asked the dispatcher.
“My t-shirt, my clothes,” answered Fulst.
“He’s got my gun loaded and everything,” the homeowner later explained, ordering Applegate to sit on the front porch while deputies were on their way.
“He has your gun?” asked the dispatcher.
“No, I have my gun,” said Fulst adding, “It’s loaded. He loaded it. Better hurry up because he wants to run.”
Fulst is next heard telling Applegate, “Get down, dude. Sit down right there.”
Authorities said there is no known connection between the homeowner and Applegate, who has a record in Colorado that includes burglary and drug arrests.
Applegate was in court in Ravenna on Tuesday, charged with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony for which he was told he could spend as many as ten years in prison if he is convicted.
Deputies are also praising Fulst for not overreacting and doing everything they asked of him while they were responding.
“He had no idea what he was walking into,” explained Johnson, concluding, “He came home and the front door was still locked.
Entry was made by a back door so he had no indication of what he was walking into until he walked into the bedroom and at that point, with Mr. Applegate reaching for that shotgun he really didn’t have an opportunity to even retreat.”
