An 89-year-old Marlboro County widow surprised and chased off two burglars who broke into her home by using a fully-loaded .38-caliber pistol she pulled from under her mattress.
Marlboro County Sheriff Fred Knight told the Florence Morning News he arrived at Ruby Hodge’s home Monday morning after she’d used her lifeline emergency device to call authorities. The two men broke in through Hodge’s back door, but ran away after she confronted them with the gun. The widow said the weapon belonged to her late husband, who died 22 years ago.
42-year-old Nelson Hawkins of Darlington and 31-year-old Ronnie Stevenson of Lydia were arrested after a passerby saw a vehicle racing out of Hodge’s driveway and took down the license plate number.
Hodge said this was the second break-in at her home within several months.
