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83-year-old grandfather throws intruder off roof after five-hour standoff with police

He was on Burgess’ roof for about an hour before the homeowner decided to go up after him.
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LA PUENTE, Ca. -- An 83-year-old man who'd had enough pushed an intruder off of his roof after a nearly five-hour standoff with police.

It all started at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when someone called 911 reporting they were being followed, KTLA reports. That's when police found a man jumping from one rooftop to another as he tried to run from them.

The chase lasted several hours, despite a crisis negotiator who tried to convince the suspect to come down.

Then, the man arrived at the rooftop of 83-year-old Wilford Burgess.

"He wasn’t staying in one place," Burgess told KTLA, describing the man's movement from home to home. "He’d be on one edge and then around on the other parts."

He was on Burgess' roof for about an hour before the homeowner decided to go up after him.

Burgess climbed a ladder to the roof, and pushed the man off and into the custody of police.

"He'd been up there too long," said Burgess. "I figured...if they can't get him off, I can."

Burgess' granddaughter, Ashley Wrenn, recorded the incident on her cell phone.

"He's like the strongest person in our family," she said. "It wasn't a surprise to us."

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