Homeless Man Helps Warr Acres Police Track Down Burglary Suspect

K-9s track down a burglary suspect accused of breaking into a restaurant.

Warr Acres Police arrested Jerome Hopkins this morning near NW 39th and MacArthur. They say he broke into ZamZam Mediterranean Grill around 4 a.m. But the bigger story is the homeless man who helped find the suspect.

Kelly Smith heard broken glass and came face-to-face with a burglary suspect outside ZamZam Mediterranean Grill.

“He came up on me and said, ‘Hey, did you hear that?!’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I heard that,’ and he's like ‘Well you ain't going to call nobody are you?’ I said, ‘No, I'm not going to mess with nobody, I didn't see nothing,’” Smith told News 9.

But Smith immediately called police when the guy went back inside.

“People are getting out of control and until God comes back, that's why we have law and order,” Smith said.

He says he couldn't sit back and do nothing.

“That's about the two worst things you can be, is a liar and a thief.”

This homeless hero says it all started with a gyro. Smith is jobless, down on his luck and has been sleeping on the ZamZam's patio. One day, the manager caught him.

“He said, ‘Hello, hello?’ I woke up and said, ‘Hello how are you?’ He said, ‘Fine. Hey I'm going to need you to get up, we are about to open. Are you hungry?’"

That kind gesture stuck with Smith. Then the time came to return the favor Wednesday morning.

“If kids don't grow up and keep themselves with promise and perspective and surrounded by the right people, they start lying, stealing.”

Even at his lowest point, Smith says he hasn't stooped to stealing and neither should anyone else.

“It sickens me. I've been out here for four weeks. I don't have a dime to my name and you don't see me stealing. What people I guess don't realize or value anymore is their integrity and dignity. Even if you get away with it, you didn't get away with it, you know you did it.”

Smith says this is the longest he's ever been unemployed. He's had some interviews and hopes to have a job soon.