Holly MatkinSpartanburg, SC – A convicted felon with a history of breaking into homes was tackled to the ground by a father-and-son duo after they allegedly spotted him rummaging through a vehicle that didn’t belong to him, according to deputies.
The incident occurred on Clark Road on Dec. 17, after a 21-year-old man noticed someone going through his 42-year-old father’s truck, WHNS reported.
The man alerted his father, who ended up chasing the suspect onto a neighbor’s property.
That’s when the suspect, 19-year-old Anton Sidorchuk, allegedly pulled out a knife.
The 42-year-old man was undeterred and swiftly grabbed the hand Sidorchuk was gripping the knife with and twisted it up behind the suspect’s back, WHNS reported.
He then slammed Sidorchuk onto the ground and held him there with his son’s assistance until Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene.
According to investigators, the suspect was found in possession of multiple items belonging to the 42-year-old man, including a jacket, batteries, air pods, earbuds, a hammock, two knives, and a screwdriver kit, WHNS reported.
Sidorchuk was arrested on charges of carbreaking, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and assault and battery high and aggravated, according to police.
It wasn’t the deputies’ first run-in with the alleged thief.
Another Spartanburg County homeowner said he was laying in bed at about 10 p.m. on June 23, 2018, when he heard someone ring his doorbell, WHNS reported at the time.
A short while later, the person started knocking on the backdoor of his home.
The homeowner later told deputies that he heard a window shatter in his living room as he was retrieving his handgun, WHNS reported.
He then spotted a man in a yellow shirt trying to get into his house, he said.
The suspect, later identified as Sidorchuk, took off running after the homeowner shot at him twice, WHNS reported.
Investigators said the homeowner’s security camera backed up his account of what occurred.
Another neighbor reported the same suspect had tried to break into his home. He turned his security camera footage over to deputies as well, WHNS reported.
The homeowner who shot at Sidorchuk was unloading plywood to cover his shattered window just before midnight when he spotted a man riding a bike down the street.
The bicyclist matched the description of the suspect who had tried to crawl into his house less than two hours earlier, WHNS reported.
The homeowner and two other individuals ended up following Sidorchuk and confronting him.
The suspect allegedly dropped onto the ground and apologized for breaking into the man’s home, according to WHNS.
Deputies responded to the scene and found Sidorchuk still laying on the ground.
He was subsequently arrested for first-degree burglary.
Sidorchuk was later convicted of third-degree burglary, and was sentenced to probation on Nov. 5, 2019, according to South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services records.
He was on probation during the commission of the incident on Thursday night, and is currently expected to finish his probation term on May 4, 2022.
