Man, 81, fights robber with pan, pitchfork

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 14 (UPI) -- An 81-year-old Florida man said he used a pan full of fried potatoes and a pitchfork to fight off an armed robber he found in his home.

Bobby Smith of Jacksonville said he was working in his garden about 11 a.m. Saturday when his caretaker, Luvina Sones, 65, came out and said there was someone inside the house, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union reported Thursday.

Smith said he went into his kitchen and discovered a man standing next to his oven with a gun in one hand and stolen items, including ID cards and a plastic bag of money, in the other.

The octogenarian said the robber shoved him to the ground and took his wallet.

"I grabbed the frying pan and hit him upside the head. I knocked his teeth out ... and he went to the floor," Smith said. "There was a pitchfork about 6 feet away ... [and] I stuck him."

Smith said the robber fled the home, "bleeding on the way out."

"I was angry; I was upset; and I was as mad as all outdoors," Smith said Wednesday. "If I'd had my gun, like I normally would have, I would have shot him because he was in my home. I don't like people hurting my family or my home."

Police said a K-9 dog discovered the stolen wallet had been dropped near the home.