'Get out!': Tacoma woman confronts escaped prisoner who barges into her home

TACOMA -- Coriana Kretschmer got quite the surprise inside her Tacoma living room last Wednesday afternoon.

“It was a guy in the gray prison uniform and broken handcuffs,” says Coriana.

Lakewood Police say a prisoner escaped a vehicle transport en route from the courthouse to the Pierce County Jail and wound up in Coriana’s living room.

“It’s something out of a police drama. It’s something I would think to see on TV, not in my own living room,” says Coriana.



Coriana says she knew she had to do something and that’s when her 13 years of dog training at her 4-H club kicked in.

“I immediately started yelling and saying, get out of my house, and, in an aggressive manner, just pushing back with my arms out, just saying, get out!" says Coriana.

Her 14-year-old brother, Timothy, grabbed his bat.

Coriana says two of the family’s three dogs joined in -- 12-year-old, Sugar, a poodle and 11-year-old, Honey, a labradoodle. The tiniest of the bunch, Otis, the Chihuahua, hid.

Coriana says the prisoner took off.

“He just knew like, oh I chose the wrong house, and got out,” she says.

Timothy says the prisoner ran across the street and that is where police caught him.

“Learn to assert your dominance and know that it’s your home and not theirs. So if somebody is there, back ‘em out of your house. Just get ‘em out!” says Coriana.

Lakewood Police say this particular prisoner was wearing a seat belt in the back of the van, but was only cuffed on one hand. They say they couldn’t cuff the other hand because the prisoner was wearing a medical brace.

Lakewood PD says they are looking into alternative ways to secure prisoners during transport to ensure this doesn’t happen again.