A fast response time by Sheriff's deputies from the Highland station to a 911 call helped stop a burglary in progress and left the Hicks family grateful and relieved that Tannar and Broedy Hicks were not harmed during the break-in. The 13-year-old twin brothers were home at the time of the burglary and made the 911 call that had deputies on the scene in less than a minute.
Just before 3 p.m. on Monday, March 30, Tannar and Broedy were alone at their home on the 7400 block of Palm Avenue when they heard the first loud knock at their front door. After looking through the peep hole and not recognizing the man, now seated on the porch, they called their mother Gretchen. The knocking then returned more vigorously as the suspect began kicking in the door.
"It didn't feel real when they were shouting on the phone, 'They're kicking the door down!,'" Gretchen said. "I told them to call 911 and we got off the phone with each other and both called 911."
Before the door was broken down the boys ran out the backdoor and hid in a garage where the family keeps chickens.
"It was terrifying hearing that loud banging on the door," Broedy said. "It sent a chill down my back."
Broedy estimates the deputies arrived in about 45 seconds.
Once at the scene Deputy Danny Rice chased and arrested one suspect, Robert Odell, as Odell was jumping a neighboring fence, according to a Sheriff's Department press release. According to Shannon Hicks, the boy's father, the suspect landed in an empty aquarium breaking his leg.
Thanks to the quick response, the few items that were taken from the home were promptly returned to the family, and the kicked-in door was the only damage.
"We can't express enough our gratitude for how fast the Sheriff's Department responded," said Shannon.
"They responded quickly, they responded in force and they, particularly Deputy Bridget Smith, were great with our boys," Gretchen said. "They told our boys that they did perfect and could not have done anything better, and I feel exactly the same about the sheriffs."
Shannon shared that the boys just had their 13th birthday in March for which they were gifted with their cell phones used to make the 911 call.
The Sheriff's Department investigation is ongoing and deputies believe there may still be two male suspects outstanding. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Highland Police Department at (909) 425-9793.