Updated at: 09/28/2009 5:38 PM | KSAX.com
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Ottertail Man Defends Home After Third Break-in

OTTERTAIL, Minn. - A string of scary breaks-ins had Paul Brandt on high alert for months.

“Someone tried to pry into my windows. Someone tried to kick in my door. That’s when I knew I had to have something to stop these people,” Ottertail resident Paul Brandt said.

Paul soon decided he needed to prepare.

“I was fortunate to be ready for this incident. This has sort of been a long time coming for me,” Brandt said.

As burglars tried to break in to Paul’s home again Thursday, he decided it was time to defend it.

“I took my 38 and fired a shot through the window. I didn’t know if I hit him. I didn’t know what had happened,” Brandt said. “I scared the daylights out of them.”

Those suspects didn’t get far as Otter Tail County authorities soon arrested 18-year-old Koal Shamp and 20-year-old Michael Mason.

“These young adults are very dangerous,” Brandt said. “I thought about moving but I’m going to stand my ground.”

Brandt soon found out he lived right next door to these guys.

“These kids thought, ‘He’s a pushover,’ because I was always nice to them,” he said. “They didn’t realize I had a loaded handgun in there and that gave me a tactical advantage.”

That advantage sent Shamp to the hospital after being shot in the rear end before he and Mason headed straight to the Otter Tail County Jail.

“I’m not going to be pushed around by some punk thugs here to terrorize the neighborhood,” Brandt said.

And while he’s spent many sleepless nights fearing for his safety, it’s plain to see Paul Brandt is not stepping down.

“I will fight to the death if that’s what it takes,” Brandt said. “I’m not going to be pushed around by these criminals.”

Written for the web by Megan Brown

mbrown@ksax.com