Man Captures Burglar, Ties Him To Tree, Calls Cops and Taa-daa… Oops, He Died

A burglar died after he was bound to a tree.

Man Captures Burglar, Ties Him To Tree, Calls Cops and Taa-daa… Oops, He Died.

A Leroy, Alabama man may have been rethinking his decision to call police after the burglar he had captured died while the cops were responding.

68-year-old Nathanial Johnson was tired of repeated burglaries to his residence, so he set a trap for burglars. Johnson parked his car at a friend’s house to make it appear that he wasn’t home, he then snuck back into his house and waited.

Cleveland Jones Gully, 31, knocked on the door to the house just before midnight. When Johnson didn’t answer, Gully moved to the back door and broke the lock.

Johnson then confronted Gully, causing him to fall or jump from the back deck. Johnson chased Gully down and tied his hands behind his back.

After Gully was captured, Johnson bound him to a tree using multiple layers of masking tape all around his mouth and head. Gully was also bound with electrical wire and clothesline rope.

With the burglar all safely secured, Johnson went to his neighbor’s house to call the police.

The police arrived about 10 minutes later, and they found Gully’s lifeless body bound to the tree.

“I don’t think he was intending to kill the intruder,” Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer told WALA. “I think he wanted to capture him and have him arrested.”

Gully reportedly had a reputation for breaking into homes, and he picked the wrong house that night.

Johnson was then taken into custody and held for 72 hours before being released. He is not currently facing charges, but the case is likely to move forward after the autopsy report comes in.

“We will probably present it to the grand jury to see what they say about it,” Sheriff Stringer said.