A Kenosha veteran has been the target of thieves not once, but twice. The second time, he woke up to a man in his bedroom. William Lawson is scared and angry and he's taking steps he never considered to protect himself.
Lawson has changed the locks, he's boarding up his doors and he is buying weapons. He says he can't only rely on the police to protect him.
He woke up in the middle of the night on May 9 to find a man standing over his bed looking through his drawers.
"I started screaming and hollering get out of here, get out of here I don't have any money," says Lawson.
The 76-year-old says the man backed out of the room but he did not leave. He heard others with him. Lawson had to barricade himself in the bedroom and tell the suspects he was calling the police before they took off. When they left he saw duct tape sitting on his dresser where the man had just been.
"I guess they were going to duct tape me if I hadn't got up," Lawson says.
This was the second time someone broke in and robbed Lawson. On March 14, Kenosha Police say three men kicked in Lawson's door while he was sleeping in his recliner. Lawson says they had big metal flashlights and were yelling at him.
"I panicked, you know I held my hands up like that and he hit me with he flashlight," Lawson says.
Lawson bags and sells candy at local fairs and festivals. He's done it for three decades. Before that he was in the Marine Corps. It was also the last time he carried a gun. Lawson says he never wanted to buy one or use one, but now he has no choice.
"I wouldn't want to. But I wouldn't want them in my house, what would they do to me," Lawson says.
Police say they are looking for three men but do not have a very good description of them.
Both times the thieves got away with cash and electronics. If you have any information, call Kenosha Police.
