Put yourself in Tim Head’s position. Last Saturday, he returned to his Winston-Salem home at the end of a work day. It was like most other workdays, except that when the 53-year-old Head opened the front door he discovered he had an uninvited house guest. A man, whose name he would later discover was Raykeem Byrd, aged 21, had broken into his house and was going through his personal belongings. Byrd was armed … with Head’s gun, which he had found among the other contents.
Here is how Head described the experience to WFMY News 2.
I just come on in the house and had a cold chill when I walked in here and then here he comes in with the gun. It scared the [expletive deleted] out of me. It happened so fast. Like I said, he just told me to get on the floor and I said “What,” and he said to get on the floor again. That’s when he knocked me a good one. So I got on the floor then. And I told him, “Just don’t shoot me!”
So far, the events unfolded in a manner more-or-less typical of how most of us would react. Head complied with the robber’s demands, handing over $442 dollars and his cell phone. He also allowed Byrd to keep his gun.
But it’s what happened next that makes the story unique. As Byrd was preparing to exit with his ill-gotten gains, Head said, “Do me a favor.”
“What is that?” Byrd replied.
“Pull your pants up.” Head said “I cannot stand seeing someone with their underwear hanging out. It burns me up.”
“Yes sir,” Byrd responded, dutifully complying.
A short time later, police arrived and arrested Byrd, who had broken into a second home nearby, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. He has been charged with breaking and entering, armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping, larceny of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Perhaps I am reading too much into it, but the story seems to offer a dim ray of hope. For one brief civil moment, an adult demanded — and received — a nod of respect from a near-child.
