TBO
October 6, 2015
Eleven-year-old Annabelle Sanders locked herself in the bathroom of her South Tampa home early one evening in August, as a man smashed a window to get inside and began looting the place. She and her 7-year-old brother were the only ones home, as their mom had gone out for a short time to run some errands.
As the intruder strode through the home, once rattling the locked bathroom door, Annabelle was on the line to 911, talking to a dispatcher about what was going on.
“I just assumed you were supposed to call 911 when someone breaks into your house,” the shy Coleman Middle School sixth grader told a gaggle of news reporters and photographers Monday morning gathered in her classroom where she was recognized for her bravery and composure during the event.
Her quick thinking resulted in officers’ hasty arrival at the scene and subsequent arrest of Andre Levon Russell, 18, 12315 Touchton Drive, Temple Terrace. He was charged with multiple counts of burglary and theft and remained in the Hillsborough County jail Monday. Bail was set at $49,000.
“It was a normal day,” Annabelle said Monday morning. “Then, I heard knocking at the door and then footsteps.”
Was she scared?
“Yes,” she said. “My brother was crying. I was crying a little bit.”
Neither Annabelle nor her little brother was injured in the incident.