DeKalb County

Burglary suspect slips away as SWAT team searches home; arrested at Walmart

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A burglar managed to slip away as a DeKalb County SWAT team searched a home, only to be arrested at a nearby Walmart, police said.

Investigators said they were called out to a home along Ridgetop Drive around 2 p.m. after they said the homeowner came home to find a man inside the house.

That homeowner, Saladine Rahman, said the man inside then started firing at him with a gun, so he ran.

"The young man came through the back sliding glass doors in the back of my house, entered my home, he saw me, when he saw me, he fired two shots," Rahman told Channel 2's Matt Johnson. "I was scared but it was a thing of I ducked and tried to get out of the way."

Police said Rahman recognized the man as a neighbor who lived a few houses down.

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“I don't understand why you would do something like that to your neighbor,” Rahman said.

When police arrived at the house, investigators said they set up a perimeter around the property and tried to contact the man they thought was inside.

After getting no response from the man, they then called in the SWAT team. When the SWAT team got no response from the man, they went into the home, searched it and didn't find anyone.

While this was going on, other officers were able to get hold of the suspect on the phone. He told police he was at a nearby Walmart.

“We eventually got him on the phone and he told us he was at a local Walmart, he stood by for police, we sent a unit over there, and we were able to take him into custody,” said Sgt. Jacques Spencer with the DeKalb County Police Department.

The 19-year-old suspect is being charged with burglary and aggravated assault, officers said.

“Hopefully to use the time and get his life together. It’s not worth it,” Rahman said.