Lake Stevens grad goes to the mat to stop thief

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, June 10, 2004

EVERETT – Brian Smith was armed with an unlikely weapon when he confronted an armed burglar in his home – high school wrestling moves.

Smith, 21, wrestled all four years at Lake Stevens High School. His wrestling moves came in handy Monday when he found a man inside his house in the 12500 block of Ruggs Lake Road

“There wasn’t any thinking. If I hadn’t wrestled, I don’t know what I would have done,” he said Thursday.

Smith pinned the man against a wall in the laundry room, threw him face down on the ground and wrapped his arms and legs around him.

At one point, the man pulled out a handgun. But Smith grabbed the barrel. He was afraid the man was going to shoot his father, who had come into the room. His father, who was visiting, had chased after a second man who sped off in a car.

Smith was able to slide the gun across the floor to his father, who removed a bullet.

Smith held the man down until police arrived. The suspect who fled in the car was arrested a short time later.

Police believe the suspects were trying to steal Smith’s motorcycles. The gun used in the burglary had been stolen from Marysville.

The confrontation made Smith appreciate the training he’d received in high school.

“I also realized just how much I miss wrestling,” he said.