Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Bismarck, North Dakota



From the Bismarck Tribune of July 27, 2004

Soldier with 957th runs down alleged burglar



The sound of shattering glass, a woman's screams and the gentle nudging of his wife woke Chris Seil, a mechanic with the 957th Multi-Role Bridge Company, from a deep sleep at about 5 a.m.



About 15 minutes later an armed Seil had ran down the alleged culprit, David Bad Brave, 19, Bismarck, and turned him over to police. Bad Brave was charged Monday with breaking into an apartment, vandalizing vehicles and lying to police officers.



Immediately after the unexpected wake-up, the couple looked out their upstairs bedroom window and spotted a teenager standing next to the "wide open" front door. Seil said the door of their Boise Avenue residence was usually locked, but they left it open that night because they were expecting a late-night guest from Fargo.



"I yelled 'Hey you, stay right there,'" Seil said. The intruder ran away.



Seil said he had been trained to deal with alarms in the year he was stationed in Iraq. Ignoring the pleas of his wife to "just leave it," Seil grabbed a handgun from the night stand and ran out the door.



"I didn't even think, I just grabbed it," he said. "I think it was a military thing."



His wife, Trish Seil, watched from the bedroom window.



"I didn't know if this guy had a weapon, so that kinda freaked me out a little bit," Trish Seil said. "Chris just ran out, and I couldn't really see him for most of the time."



Barefoot and wearing only pajama bottoms, Seil jumped a fence and chased Bad Brave across apartment complex parking lots. When it looked like Bad Brave might escape, Seil said he cocked the handgun and told him to "stop or I'll shoot."



"I didn't know what he did in my house, if he hurt someone or stole something," Seil said.



Seil said Bad Brave stopped and attempted to punch him, but Seil kicked the intruder's legs out from under him and jumped on his back. Seil said he walked Bad Brave to a nearby police car holding on to the man's shirt and ponytail.



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