When burglars invaded the home of Ruby Hodge, 89, they got a lot more than they bargained for.
Hodge was in her bedroom just after 8 a.m. Monday morning, when she heard a knock at her back door.
"I did not answer the knock then.They waited a few minutes and they knocked again and I got up out of bed," said Hodge.
Before she could get to the door, the burglars had forced their way inside.
"Then I heard a loud noise and I said it was somebody broken in my door," she continued.
The great-grandmother came face to face with two men dressed in black down her hallway.
"I reached and I got my pistol and I met them right outside of my bedroom. Right inside of my bedroom door two black men passed and they were two medium black men and they were dressed in black and when they saw me standing in there with my pistol , they left and run."
Hodge pressed her lifeline button that hangs loosely around her neck. It alerted 911 and within five minutes several deputies with the Marlboro County Sheriff's Office were at Hodge's home.
"I've had it for about five years now and I never have really had to use it up until this time is when I used my lifeline and I feel like that saved my life."
Deputies searched around Hodge's home, dusted for fingerprints and gathered evidence in hopes of tracking down the burglars.
Hodge's daugther and niece got to the scene not long after law enforcement. They say they are relieved she's ok and commend her on how she handled the situation.
"My aunt will be 90 years old in October and she held her own. And when the people were breaking in and they saw her, she had hit the lifeline button and also had her pistol turned on them they turned around and high-tailed it out of here. I'm so proud of her," said Rebecca McArthur.
Hodge says this is the second time in a few months, she's had a break-in at her home. She's a little nervous, but not afraid to use her gun, if necessary. She has it close-by at all times.
"I sleep with my pistol," said Hodge.
Marlboro County deputies arrested Nelson Hawkins, 42, and Ronnie Stevenson, 31, later Monday afternoon. They are both charged with Burglary in the First Degree and Damage to Property
Around 11 a.m., Stevenson was arrested in Darlington County and a little after 5 p.m., Hawkins was also arrested in Darlington County with the help of U.S. Marshals
Deputies were able to track down Stevenson and Hawkins because an eye-witness saw the car leaving the crime scene and was able to get a license plate number.
Stevenson and Hawkins are both persons of interest in other Marlboro County burglaries, according to a police report.
They both have been booked at the Marlboro County Detention Center.
