OKC Dollar General Manager Beats Suspected Burglar With Baseball Bat

A serial burglar tried to make his next hit, but ended up getting a beating of his own. A store manager came at the crook swinging, and it's all recorded by 911.

Wearing a pair of men's underwear to hide his face, police say the burglar smashed in the front door of a Dollar General store in southeast Oklahoma City.

Darrel Proffer knows firsthand what it's like to come face to face with a criminal. Proffer is a security guard for Elite Security.

Although Proffer does not work at Dollar General, he believes most business should have security plans.

"If citizens and police all ban together, we can have a good town," Proffer said.

Proffer's beliefs became a reality when a burglar broke into Dollar General.

Dispatcher: "Oklahoma City 911."

Call: "...[Ping]... Agh."

The sound recorded by dispatchers referred to as "ping," is what police describe as baseball bat hitting Horatio Coates in the head, as he tried to steal DVDs from the store.

Police say the store manager called 911, dropped his phone, and hit Coates at least five times until he fell unconscious.

After the scuffle, the manager asked for help. The call goes on for several minutes before Coates, a man previously convicted of four other burglaries, started to process the scene.

Dispatcher: "Is he still laying there?"

Caller: "He is still laying here."

Burglar: "I don't know what the hell is going on."

Caller: "He is saying he doesn't know what is going on."

Caller: "Lie down. The ambulance is on the way. Lie down the ambulance is on its way buddy. Be still."

Darrel Proffer said the store manager made the right call.

"With the help of that gentleman at the dollar store, and ourselves, we are going to try to help make it better," he said.

When police arrived, they put Coates into custody and took him to a local hospital.

Prosecutors charged Coates with two counts of second-degree burglary after learning he also burglarized a second business one month earlier.