TOUGH GUY

93-Year-Old Retired Plumber Shoots Home Intruder, Police Say

“He was tired because every time he calls the police, [they took] forever to come,” a man whose wife is related to the shooter said. “He took the law into his own hands.”

Joe Howard Teague is 93, but he’s not playing around. When the retired California plumber called 911 around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, he had several burglars at gunpoint, police say. Though several people were seen leaving the house when police arrived, cops said Joseph A. Ortega, 33, wasn’t so lucky as he’d been critically injured by a gunshot. Oscar Malma, a local whose wife is related to Teague, told ABC 7 this isn’t the first time Teague has had a problem with burglars. “He was tired because every time he calls the police, [they took] forever to come and assist him,” Malma said. “He took the law into his own hands.” Teague was taken in for questioning that night but later released. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigation into what happened, according to a release.