A Washington state farmer encountered burglars armed with a “billy club” on his property and held them at gunpoint until police arrived.

Sam Krautscheid, who describes himself as a “poster child” for crimefighting, was on his way to a country music concert with his sons when he ran into the alleged thieves and was forced to confront them. He acknowledged how thankful he was to have his gun with him while describing the incident to Fox News Digital in a phone interview.

“On Sept. 9 before 7 p.m., Krautscheid left one of his fields and corralled his three youngest sons into his pickup truck to head to the nearby Gorge Amphitheater to see country singer Eric Church perform and get ‘some fancy burgers and just hang out and relax.’ As he and his sons passed a farm store he leases and is in the process of purchasing, he spotted a small car outside the building,” Fox News reported.

The farmer’s gut told him something wasn’t right, so he turned the pickup around and went to investigate.

2a for the win.

— AC (@Crossa75) September 26, 2023

“I turned [the truck around], pulled around and parked… and walked over and looked in the car and there’s a gas can in the passenger seat, it was a very small car. And in the back seat, had a massage table and a weed eater and some other items that screamed to me you know ‘stolen items,’” Krautscheid recounted.

Sensing something was not right as all was quiet on the property, he went back to the truck and got his gun, loading it just in case. At the same time, Krautscheid called 911 and told the police he believed a burglary was in process.

“I was approaching the corner of the building, I saw an arm. I saw somebody jumped back and I kind of cleared around the end of the building and there was one individual close to me,” he recalled, noting that he then saw another man “coming toward me with a billy club.”

The farmer then pointed his gun at the men, yelling at them to get on the ground. One of them did, he recounted, but the other resisted, ridiculously claiming they were there to rent the building.

“I’ve got a loud voice. And I just started yelling to get down. ‘Get down, get on the ground, and don’t come any closer,’” Krautscheid told Fox News. “‘I don’t want to shoot, but I will shoot.”

Glad you were armed. We need to keep this right to keep everyone safe and protect property. ❤️

— Jeanne Fentress (@JeanneFentress) September 26, 2023

“The rear individual got down pretty quickly. The front individual stayed up for quite a bit, was somewhat defiant of the process, and made me nervous to the point I felt I was probably a couple of seconds away from having to put one on the ground next to him to try to get them compliant. But, thank God, I didn’t have to,” he continued.

All three of Krautscheid’s sons, two of whom were in eighth and fourth grade, stayed in the truck and saw the whole thing go down.

“They could see me yelling and screaming, but they had no idea what I was dealing with. I didn’t know if there was one person, two people, three people there,” the father of five commented.

One of the boys reportedly texted his mother about what was happening. He also bragged to his friends about his dad being a hero.

“Krautscheid explained that Grant County, Washington, is ‘bigger than the state of Rhode Island,’ but despite its vastness, deputies were able to make it to his home in six minutes and arrested the two men. They were identified as 45-year-old Glenn Richard of Quincy and 28-year-old Jesus Rangel of Mattawa,” Fox News stated.

Shoe prints in the building proved that the two men were there and up to no good.

Love these feel good stories with a happy ending. Way to protect your property and family.

— C Macleod (@CMacleod1518) September 26, 2023

“I’m lucky because… I’ve had handgun and self-defense training classes. But in this situation, I was focused on those two individuals. I had four houses and a yard behind me, and a building behind me, I am lucky nobody was back in there,” the NRA life member stated.

The store the two men hoped to target was “stripped to the studs” because the farmer was in the process of buying it. The incident was just another illustration, Krautscheid noted, of the importance of the Second Amendment.

“I told somebody I’m too old to take a beating from a billy club. And my friend joked to me, ‘Is there an age limit to that?’” he laughed.

“He didn’t bring [the billy club] just to carry for looks,” Krautscheid snarked.

BRAVO! Need More of This!

— Don Sage (@DonCSage) September 25, 2023

He also commented that the “irony” of the situation was “not lost” on him since he is the administrator of a Facebook group of local farmers who exchange information on local crimes.

“They hit the poster child” of fighting crime as a civilian, Krautscheid quipped to Fox News.

The farmer has had other run-ins with people who have come onto his property. He’s had to call 911 six times this summer. Krautscheid blames it on drug use.

He wants the courts to give the two men “the maximum allowable sentence.”

“I do not believe allowing them to stay and live as they are now will be beneficial for them. I am praying the court and jail can give them resources they need and the time away from their associates to make the break for good in their life. May the Lord have mercy on their souls, and may the court give Glen and Jesus full sentences,” the farmer said.

Both men were charged with felony second-degree burglary.

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