Grandmother scolds teenage burglars

DECATUR, Ga. - A pair of burglars breaking into a home got quite the surprise when a grandmother confronted and scolded them.

"They had bandanas around their noses like Wild West bandits... I did say, 'Why aren't you in school?' For some crazy reason I said, 'Where is your mother?'" said Ann Peck, who will soon turn 86.

Ms. Peck said sometime after 4 a.m., as she was reading in bed in her Candler Street home in Decatur, heard rustling inside her home. Her granddaughter was in another room.

She said she saw two young men come into her bedroom and rifle through her drawers; one came up to her and asked her for her car keys. She told him she didn't know where they were.

"They were just so young," said the retired schoolteacher, who taught in Atlanta for three decades.

Police said the burglars took a wallet and iPod or laptop, rummaged through her car and took off.

Ms. Peck has a question for the juvenile criminals: "Why? There should be a better way," she said.

Decatur Police describe the young men as 15 to 16 years old, wearing dark clothing and red bandanas.

Anyone with information is asked to call Decatur Police. Tipsters can also contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.