92-Year-Old Man Chews Through Restraints After Burglary

SHORELINE, Wash. (The Blaze/AP) — The King County sheriff's office says a 92-year-old Shoreline man chewed through restraints to free himself after two men robbed his house.

Sgt. John Urquhart says that on Monday two men knocked on Lester Matteson's door and asked to use his phone, claiming their car had broken down. But once they entered, the men grabbed the victim's arms and held them while they used masking tape to tape him to a chair.

Urquhart says the men ransacked the house, eventually taking off with more than $400 in cash and the victim's 2000 Ford pickup truck.

It took Matteson, a WWII vet, two hours to chew through the masking tape. Other than bruises, he was not injured.

"They had it all planned. They knew it was an easy mark here," he told KOMO-TV. "The next thing you know they had their tape, grabbed me and strapped me to the chair. They just grabbed my arms and started wrapping. My legs were taped to the chair."

"I wasn't frightened," he added. "I just couldn't do nothing about it, I'm 92. At 92, you don't wrestle two young men. I have a hard time walking up the hill."

And he says he's learned his lesson: "Watch out who you let in."

The robbers are still at large.