WAREHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A high bail was set for a man who broke into a home in Middleboro on Friday morning and was nabbed after a “courageous” teenage girl confronted him, followed him outside as he fled, and captured video of his license plate, authorities said.
Joseph Ridge, 58, of Bourne, was ordered to be held on $200,000 bail at his arraignment in Wareham District Court on charges including aggravated breaking and entering during the daytime, trespassing, and disorderly conduct, according to Middleboro Police Chief Joseph Perkins.
Officers responding to a report of a break-in at a home on Spruce Street around 7:20 a.m. spoke with 14-year-old Avery Cormier who said she was awoken to the sound of an intruder, Perkins said.
“I was like, ‘Get out of my house, get out of my house!’ And he looked very shocked,” said Avery. “I was screaming at the top of my lungs.”
Her 12-year-old sister was still sound asleep upstairs so Avery confronted Ridge on her own with two steak knives. She then followed him outside and captured a video of the vehicle he was driving, as well as its license plate number.
Click the media player below to listen to the girl’s frantic 911 call:
State police troopers assigned to the Bourne Barracks caught Ridge driving on the Bourne Bridge a short while later.
“I would like to commend the courageous actions of this girl. Even in the midst of an extremely scary event, her bravery assisted us in identifying the man believed to be responsible for breaking into her home,” Perkins said in a statement. “I would also like to thank the Middleboro police dispatcher who took the call and officers who responded for their kindness and compassion when responding to this incident.”
Perkins noted that Ridge is a “career criminal” who has been arraigned 140 times since 1980.
Avery, who just happened to be home from school because it was Good Friday, said she is still processing her harrowing ordeal.
“I just felt like, it’s my house and you just gotta protect it, you know,” she said.
An investigation remains ongoing.
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