NEED TO KNOW
A Houston couple discovered a man stuck in their chimney after their dog alerted them to strange noises
Firefighters knocked down the wall to rescue the man, who claimed he was being chased and tried to hide in the chimney
Edwin Leonel Salmeron Granados faces a burglary of a habitation charge, according to a Harris County District Attorney’s Office court document obtained by PEOPLE
A Texas couple called 911 on Easter morning after discovering a man was stuck in their home’s chimney.
Joni Mitchell woke up at 12:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, April 5, in their Houston home after their dog, Ellie, began barking due to hearing noises.
“I was like, ‘What’s going on, Ellie?’ And I did hear some noises,” Joni recalled to local news outlet KHOU 11. “All of a sudden, I started hearing [groaning], and it was coming out of the fireplace.”
She then shook her husband, Curt, awake, but he didn’t fully know what was going on at first. “Maybe a raccoon or something got in,” he said.
“I come down and open the flue inside the fireplace … and this guy was … freaking out,” Curt added.
Firefighters showed up and broke the fireplace down to remove the man, who told a firefighter he “was being chased and was trying to get away from something,” Curt explained to KHOU 11. He continued, “When they broke it in, the front fell off, and there was his face and his shoulders.”
The suspect was identified as 33-year-old Edwin Leonel Salmeron Granados, according to a Harris County District Attorney’s Office court document obtained by PEOPLE.
The Houston Police Department arrested the suspect at 1:35 a.m., per the document, which states that Granados faces a burglary of a habitation charge. His next court date is April 10, the DA’s office told PEOPLE.
The couple believes the suspect climbed a fence onto their roof and tried to go down the chimney, getting trapped in the process.
“I’ve never ever heard anything like this before. It was crazy,” Joni said.
A chimney (stock image)
Credit: Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I hope we don’t have to pay for it because that looks really expensive,” Curt added about the damage in their house.
Read the original article on People