Houston pastor called a hero after confronting thief who assaulted elderly neighbor

A Houston pastor jumped into action when he heard screams for help from his elderly neighbors and confronted an alleged thief head-on during a violent home invasion.

Pastor Heath Haynes, who just moved into the neighborhood, is being hailed a hero for intervening during the break-in and coming face-to-face with the heartless suspect in a caught-on-video confrontation, according to reports.

“If it wasn’t for him, we’d probably be dead,” neighbor Sharon Koehn told KTRK last week following the June 15 incident.

The suspect, identified as Shane Jennings, forced his way into Sharon Koehn and her husband’s home after knocking on their door.

He allegedly pushed his way past the woman as she tried to close the front door and shoved her husband Earl Koehn to the floor, she said.

As the couple cried for help, Haynes came out of his house and quickly realized something was wrong.

“Looking through the window, I could see Earl being on the ground, coat rack over his chest, man rifling through his pocket,” Haynes told the station. “I’m banging on the door.”

After Jennings, 54, left the victims’ house with a set of car keys and a wallet, Haynes gave chase and began recording.

He’s seen grabbing Jennings in the driveway and asking him: “What do you think you’re doing, man?”, according to the footage obtained by KTRK.

“You’re beating that man up? Hey, put it down! Put it down! Put it down!” he also said as he tried to get the alleged thief to drop the keys and wallet.

Jennings then grabbed a large tree branch and tried to use it against Haynes, who decided to back off so no one else would get hurt.

The suspect jumped into the Koehns’ car and plowed through a neighbor’s fence and two backyards before he escaped through another driveway, hitting the car parked there and damaging the brick exterior of the home.

He was arrested later the same day following a dramatic police chase in which he allegedly struck at least one police cruiser, according to the station. He’s accused of six felony charges, including aggravated assault of an elderly person and assault of a peace officer.

Haynes, who is a pastor with the home church network “The Bridge HTX,” is only temporarily living next to the Earl and Sharon Koehn. He and his wife moved in with her family while their house is being renovated, he told the station. 

“Jesus says to love your neighbor, and we take that literally,” Haynes told KTRK.