Marion County Sheriff's Office Deputies say the homeowner not only caught the burglar, but held him until help arrived.

48-year-old Alan Steinsultz was all smiles today at the Dunnellon District Sheriff's Office because would-be burglar, 19-year-old George Rossi was behind bars.

"The kid is actually lucky," said Steinsultz. "It could have been a lot worse for him."

Steinsultz says he happened to get out of work a little early Wednesday evening when he noticed an unusual car in front of his home.

"And then I came back up here opened up the door and then the other kid who was stealing was inside the house," said Steinsultz.

The driver then took off, but Steinsultz chased Rossi through the sliding glass door, that had been broken with a car rim to get into the home and then tackled him on the ground.

"I had a cell phone and he thought it was a gun, and I didn't let him know him any different," said Steinsultz.

"When we got there to the back bedroom, we had a homeowner standing in the hallway watching into the bedroom, and the suspect who was on his knees with his hands on his head," said Dunnellon District Commander Lt. Butch Gallon.

He's crying, please don't shoot me, I'm sorry let me go," said Steinsultz.

Deputies say Rossi was especially chatty on the ride to jail. According to deputies, Rossi bragged about how good he was at burglaries saying, "You won't find my DNA in the house, I was wearing my socks." He said he studied how to do burglaries properly and how to get away with it except that it didn't work for him so maybe he didn't study hard enough.

In fact, Rossi has been arrested several times in several counties for the same thing. Steinsultz is glad he was there to make sure he was caught again.