15-year-old suspected burglar freed from chimney of March Street home

BATON ROUGE – Authorities responded to a 15-year-old stuck in a chimney who is suspected of burglarizing a home on Friday morning.

The home is located in the 1700 block of March Street near June Street off of Dalrymple Drive. The fire department freed the teenager after several firefighters assisted in pulling him out. BRPD was also on the scene and handcuffed the teen once he was assisted off of the roof onto the ground.

An Orkin worker, Johnny Fontenot, arrived at the home to treat it for pests. Fontenot said he was working when he heard a noise and told the homeowner.

"So I told the customer 'I hear noise' and she said that was the TV so I went on and started treating the house and I heard the noise again," Fontenot said.

"I said 'No, that’s not the TV,'"Fontenot said.

Fontenot said that he and the homeowner then stood by the chimney to listen for the noise again.

"We stood by the fireplace and I hollered “Is somebody here?'" Fontenot said. He said that the teen responded, “Yeah, yeah! Give me a rope. I need a rope!'"

Fontenot said the homeowner then went outside and saw that the cover of the chimney was taken off. He said the homeowner then called 911 while he talked to the teen.

"I kept talking to the guy to calm him down," Fontenot said.

Police say that the teen did not require medical attention after freed from the chimney and will be booked into juvenile detention.