Deltona man calls 911 while pointing BB gun at car theft suspect

DELTONA, Fla. — A 73-year-old Deltona man didn't back down when he saw a man trying to steal his truck. Instead, Sanford Ketcham called 911 and then confronted the would-be thief while on the phone with dispatchers.

Ketcham was going outside to lock up his 2007 Chevrolet pickup truck Wednesday night when the suspect, Walter Media, was allegedly rummaging through and getting ready to possibly steal the vehicle.

Authorities said that’s when Ketcham grabbed a BB gun and then threatened Media, telling him he was going to die.

Dispatcher: "Hello, 911."

Ketcham: "There's a man in my truck, right now. You better get somebody out, or I'll shoot him right through the windshield."

Ketcham said he stood on his porch and pointed the unloaded BB gun through the windshield at Media, who was sitting behind the wheel.

Dispatcher: "Is he trying to steal or is he stealing stuff out of it?"

Ketcham: "No, he's in it! I'm in inside. I'm inside the house. I went out to lock my truck, and there's a man standing around my uniform, my sheriff uniform."

Ketcham is a crossing guard for the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.  His uniform, which displays the word "sheriff" across the front, was hanging in plain view in the backseat of the truck, he said.

It's possible the suspect didn't know Ketcham was only a crossing guard, so Ketcham played it up as Medina tried to get away, authorities said.

“No, I said stay there! Down! No, down, or I'll shoot you,” Ketcham can be heard saying on the 911 call. “I don't give a God (expletive). I'm a cop, you know. See my uniform? You're dead!”

Dispatcher: "I'm getting officers over there right now."

Ketcham: "You better get them. I'll let him have it right through the windshield."

Dispatcher: Alright, alright, sir. This is a recorded line. You don't want to be making threats on a recorded line."

Authorities were able to apprehend Media. He’s being held in the Volusia County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Ketcham said the truck is his pride and joy, and he uses it to haul around lawn equipment to cut grass.

WFTV