TAMPA — Eleven-year-old Annabelle Sanders locked herself in the bathroom of her South Tampa home early one evening in August, as a man smashed a window to get inside and began looting the place. She and her 7-year-old brother were the only ones home, as their mom had gone out for a short time to run some errands.
As the intruder strode through the home, once rattling the locked bathroom door, Annabelle was on the line to 911, talking to a dispatcher about what was going on.
“I just assumed you were supposed to call 911 when someone breaks into your house,” the shy Coleman Middle School sixth grader told a gaggle of news reporters and photographers Monday morning gathered in her classroom where she was recognized for her bravery and composure during the event.
Her quick thinking resulted in officers’ hasty arrival at the scene and subsequent arrest of Andre Levon Russell, 18, 12315 Touchton Drive, Temple Terrace. He was charged with multiple counts of burglary and theft and remained in the Hillsborough County jail Monday. Bail was set at $49,000.
“It was a normal day,” Annabelle said Monday morning. “Then, I heard knocking at the door and then footsteps.”
Was she scared?
“Yes,” she said. “My brother was crying. I was crying a little bit.”
Neither Annabelle nor her little brother was injured in the incident.
On the other end of the line was dispatcher Nicolas Ware, a three-year veteran of the dispatch center.
Children who call during emergencies are difficult, he said, because they don’t often offer up information about what’s going on.
“She gave us so much info,” he said. ”I wanted to make sure she was safe and asked her to get to a safe spot.”
She told Ware that she already had locked herself and her brother in the bathroom.
“She’s a brilliant girl,” Ware said.
Annabelle’s mother, Jill Sanders, said she is very proud of her daughter. She had gotten the first call from Annabelle while someone was knocking on the door, she said. Both hung up and called 911 at the same time while her mom rushed home.
“She puts things together well,” Jill Sanders said.
Tampa police Chief Eric Ward gave Annabelle a plaque, a coffee mug that he said she should use for hot chocolate, and a police badge.
Police Sgt. Kert Rojka said the young girl exhibited bravery and coolness in a bad situation during the Aug. 28 ordeal.
“She protected her younger brother, like a big sister is supposed to do,” he said. “Without a doubt she is a hero for her younger brother and a role model.”
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