Carolina Panthers Fullback Alex Armah was caught on tape fighting off a man who attempted to break into his car.
In an interview with ABC News, the 24-year-old pro athlete opened up about the time he stopped a man from breaking into his car using the new technology, Owl Car Cam. The incident happened back in February at Armah’s apartment complex in Charlotte. Armah explained he purchased the camera because he’d already had his car broken into a few months before and wanted to take precaution. Owl Cam was made by a Palo Alto company, which was founded by one of the lead engineers who designed the iPod and the first iPhone, Andy Hodge. It was created to monitor regular and irregular activity in and around a car.
“It noticed something was happening around the car. It sent a notification to Alex. He literally sitting on his couch saw what was happening, he could live view,” Armah said, as he explained his first actions when he got the notification. “I look at my screen, and I see someone in my car. And that’s when the adrenaline kicked in, and I was like, this is real.” Armah sprinted into the garage, where he confronted the man he had just seen on live video.
Armah said the burglar lied and acted like he’d never been in the car. “He was like ‘oh I wasn’t in it, I was just checking it out, man.’ But I have you on camera in my car. So what were you doing in it?” The man carried on with his lie, saying he was a resident. When the concierge got involved the man tried to run but couldn’t compete with the professional athlete, who also knows the wrestling move known as ambar.
When the police arrived, they arrested 32-year-old Daniel Cagle. Cagle was charged with attempted break-in, in addition to a felony car break-in from 2012.
