Bowl of chili used to fend off robbers in Claiborne County

By Rebecca Ferrar

Knoxville News Sentinel
Thursday, May 14, 2009

 

Samuel Partin

 

Tommy Wayne Garrett

 

Fabian Moore

When two men broke into her home, Wanda Bray defended herself with what she had - a bowl of chili and some household objects.

"The woman fought them off," said Capt. David Honeycutt of the Claiborne County Sheriff's Department, of the 58-year-old Bray. "She threw a bowl of homemade chili and got after them with a broom."

Authorities later arrested three men in connection with the home-invasion robbery, and two of them were also charged with a convenience store heist.

The robbery occurred at about 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Arthur community of Claiborne County.

After Bray threw "household objects" at the robbery suspects, they fled the scene, a Sheriff's Department press release states.

The victim told deputies the robbers ran into her home and demanded her medication.

"They probably got away with some blood pressure pills," Honeycutt said.

Claiborne County Sheriff David Ray said that while Honeycutt was investigating the home-invasion robbery, his investigation took him to a location where authorities discovered a vehicle used in another robbery last week of the Tiger Ma