Good Samaritan pastor being called a hero after confronting man accused of attacking neighbor

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston pastor is being called a hero after he intervened during a home invasion of elderly neighbors.

According to police, Shane Jennings, 54, barged into the home of Sharon and Earl Koehn in northwest Houston on June 15.

Sharon said Jennings first asked her for a glass of water, then insisted she give him ice water. He then asked to use the restroom. When she refused, he became enraged.

"I started to close the door, and that's when he pushed his way inside and shoved my husband to the floor," Sharon said.

As this was going on, Pastor Heath Haynes and his wife heard cries of "Help!" from next door. After running outside, Haynes quickly realized his neighbors were in trouble and jumped into action.

"Looking through the window, I could see Earl being on the ground, coat rack over his chest, man rifling through his pocket," Haynes recalled. "I'm banging on the door."

Haynes, who is the pastor at The Bridge HTX, a home church network, chased after Jennings. He turned on his phone camera to record while his wife dialed 911. He then chased Jennings toward the driveway.

In video Haynes provided to ABC13, Haynes is seen grabbing Jennings in the driveway.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, man?" Haynes says on video.

"I'm not doing anything," Jennings replies.

"You're beating that man up? Hey, put it down! Put it down! Put it down!" Haynes implores, telling Jennings to drop Earl Koehn's wallet and keys.

Instead, Jennings allegedly grabbed a large tree branch and tried to attack Haynes.

"There was a lot going on. I had to make a judgement," Haynes said, knowing that he needed to prevent others from being hurt but not knowing if he had a weapon. "I approach people with so much love everyday. It's weird to approach someone to put your hand on them, to control them, to dominate them."

Haynes decided he shouldn't risk anyone else getting injured and watched as Jennings got into the truck.

"I just need to capture evidence as much as possible (for police)," Haynes said.

The video then shows Jennings driving the truck through a neighbor's fence, through two backyards, and then out, hitting another neighbor's car before veering off. Jennings was captured several hours later near I-10 and Gessner. He allegedly hit at least one law enforcement vehicle during a brief chase.

Jennings is currently behind bars, facing six felony charges ranging from aggravated assault of an elderly person to assault of a peace officer.

Meanwhile, Earl Koehn, whom Jennings allegedly attacked, spent the night in the hospital. He has a bandage on his arm but a twinkle in his eye.

"I think the person that did what he did didn't expect to get the return that he got," he said.

Earl's wife agrees, calling Haynes a hero.

"If it wasn't for him, we'd probably be dead," Sharon said.

Haynes said he believes God played a role. He and his family recently moved into his mother-in-law's home, which is next door to the Koehns, because their house is being renovated. Haynes said they may just be temporary neighbors, but they are here to live their faith.

"Jesus says to love your neighbor, and we take that literally," Haynes said.

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