Elderly couple survive home invasion, as wife arms self with 'Sweet Jane'
An elderly Buckhead couple say a violent home invasion shattered the calm of their Garden Hills neighborhood in Atlanta one recent Monday night after a man forced his way into their home and threatened to kill them.
David and Mary Hubert told Atlanta News First that they have lived in the house for more than 20 years and had never experienced serious crime in the area before the incident. Their quiet evening changed suddenly when a man barged into the lower level of their home around 7 p.m. March 2 while the couple were watching movies on different floors.
Police later arrested 36-year-old Ramon Darden, who now faces charges of burglary and criminal trespass.
'Get out of my house'
David Hubert said the intruder suddenly appeared inside the home and confronted him. Shocked to find a stranger standing in his house, Hubert told the man to leave.
Instead of leaving, the suspect became aggressive, cursing and behaving erratically.
Recognizing the danger, Hubert moved quickly, locking himself inside a room and calling 911, staying on the phone with Atlanta police while officers responded to the scene.
Mary reaches for 'Sweet Jane'
Upstairs, Mary Hubert heard the commotion unfolding below. She immediately reached for a handgun she keeps close by, her .38-caliber pistol that she affectionately calls “Sweet Jane.”
She grabbed the revolver from under her pillow and moved into a defensive position, hiding while watching the hallway and using reflections from the bathroom mirrors so she could see if the intruder approached.
While her husband remained locked down on the phone with dispatchers, the suspect reportedly wandered through the house for a period of time, moving room to room. David Hubert said the man appeared to be smoking and even turned family photographs face down while roaming the home.
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For more than an hour after police arrived, Mr. Hubert still had not been able to reach Mary and did not know where she was inside the house. But he told reporters he wasn’t worried about her ability to defend herself.
“I know she’s capable of defending herself,” he said. “They had better hope they get me and not Mary.”
Police arrest suspect
Atlanta police eventually located and arrested the suspect inside the home and cleared the scene. The couple said they are grateful to law enforcement and thankful they both survived the ordeal.
Authorities believe the suspect may have entered through an unlocked side door near the garage, something the homeowners say they have since corrected.
Stories like this illustrate a simple reality: When someone breaks into your home and threatens your life, the first line of defense is the person already there.
David Hubert created time and distance by locking himself in a room and calling the police. Mary Hubert prepared to defend herself with “Sweet Jane” if the intruder came upstairs.
In this case, the firearm never had to be fired. But it served the purpose millions of Americans rely on every day, a tool that gives law-abiding citizens a fighting chance while waiting for help to arrive.
And for David and Mary Hubert, that preparation may have made all the difference between a terrifying story and a tragic one.
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