Burglar gets ripped off, ends up naked in Duluth

Last update: September 9, 2007 - 9:18 PM

DULUTH - A man who tried to burglarize a Duluth home came out with less than he went in with, losing his clothes in a scuffle.

When police asked homeowner Wayne Boniface whether he could identify the suspect, Boniface said: "Oh, yeah. I believe he's the only guy running nude in Duluth."

Wayne and Kathie Boniface returned home from dinner at a neighbor's Thursday night to find a stranger in their house. A more-than-five-minute scuffle with Wayne Boniface ended with all of the alleged burglar's clothes ripped off, after which he ran out of the house.

Boniface, 69, said the man made the mistake of grabbing Kathie Boniface. "As soon as he grabbed my wife, I had him in the kitchen wrestling him to the ground in a headlock and armlock," Boniface said.

First, Boniface said, he ripped the man's shirt off. Then, "his head was down over the railing, and in today's world, pants are worn fairly loose. I pulled his pants, and his pants and underpants and shoes came completely off. He was completely nude."

The 20-year-old man was apprehended nearby about 20 minutes later.

Keith C. Bellanger has been charged with two counts of first-degree burglary. He has a probation violation on a second-degree burglary conviction and four other warrants for receiving stolen property, interfering with a peace officer and underage consumption.

Wayne Boniface said he did some boxing as a youth and knows some wrestling holds but said mostly he was just lucky. "He got in one good punch, but I got in a few more than he did," Boniface said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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