Quick-thinking mom helps cops nab alleged burglar

DUNWOODY, Ga. — A Dunwoody mother woke up early Monday morning and found a burglar inside her home.

Her quick thinking kept her three young children safe and even helped catch the thief, Dunwoody police said.

Channel 2’s John Bachman obtained the 911 recording of the woman speaking with a dispatcher.

"There's someone in my house," Jamie Kelly whispered to a dispatcher from inside of her Dunwoody home around 5 a.m. She was down the hall from a burglar.

"Do you have your children with you?" the dispatcher asked.

"I have my children with me, yes," Kelly said.

She had gotten out of bed and noticed her patio door open and computers stacked up next to the door.

"I can see a shadow of somebody in my kitchen," Kelly told the dispatcher.

Kelly's first priority was to keep her family safe.

"First thing that crossed my mind was I didn't want him to be alarmed and do anything crazy, so out loud I said, 'Oh my goodness I left the door open last night," Kelly explained to Bachman.

Then she quietly went back to her bedroom and called 911.

"Staying on line with you. Several officers are on the way right now. You stay calm," the dispatcher said.

"I'm looking around the room for what I can use as a baseball bat, something. That instinct kind of takes over," said Kelly's husband, Mike Kelly.

But in two minutes, police had their home surrounded.

Police said the burglar ran out the front door, made a beeline for the woods and jumped a couple of fences. Officers were able to track him down in the woods. They found a backpack on him with a video game inside.

Police arrested 22-year-old H.T. Smith. Now they're working to connect him to other break-ins in the neighborhood.

"She did a fantastic job and she probably will lead to closure of some of those cases in her area," said Dunwoody Police Officer Tim Fecht.

“I think it's a mother's instinct. I've never been in a situation like this. Hopefully it'll never happen again. You just think 'What can I do to keep my family safe?,''' Kelly said.

The Kellys said there have been several break-ins in their neighborhood – both in cars and homes. Someone broke into their car last month and they hope the recent arrest puts an end to the rash of break-ins.

WSBTV