WINDHAM – Awakened from a nap by the sound of intruders, a Windham man last week scared off two men, then caught one of the men after a harrowing chase that ended with the help of police on Route 302.

The incident began at 56 Woodland Road, off Anglers Road in North Windham, near noontime on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Police say Fred Fusco Jr., 38, was napping at his father’s home when two men entered the residence through an animal access door. (The following interview with Fusco was verified with Windham police.)

The intruders, later identified as Donald Whipple, 54, of Augusta, and Charles Breen, 42, of 477 Falmouth Road in Windham – a former employee of Fusco’s – were rifling through the residence when the napping Fusco woke and took them by surprise.

“You should have seen the look on Charlie’s face when I sat up on the couch. His chin was on the floor,” Fusco said. “I was totally covered up (in a blanket). They must have not seen me there on the couch.”

Fusco, who lives with his wife and two children next door to his father’s trailer, then grabbed a steel pipe that was lying near the couch and beat Breen, who used to work for Fusco’s company, TNT Roofing and Remodeling. While the two were fighting, Fusco said he heard Whipple shout, “Let him go or I’ll shoot you.”

Up to that point, Fusco said, he was too “pumped up” to consider whether the men were armed, but, he said, “my heart rate went sky high” when Whipple threatened to shoot him. In that instant, Fusco let go of Breen and both intruders escaped through the front door, with Whipple driving off in a car Fusco described as a Nissan Maxima and Breen running into the woods.

Fusco said he ran out of the house and threw a large rock at the getaway car’s windshield, so he would know which car to follow in pursuit. Fusco also said Whipple tried hitting him with the car as he exited the property.

“I’ve got the black and blues on my knee and leg to prove it,” Fusco said.

Fusco, armed with a pry bar he grabbed on his way out of the house, then got into his Dodge 250 pickup truck and sped down Woodland Road pursuing Whipple. Admittedly “driving like a bat out of hell down the dead center of the road,” Fusco finally made visual contact with the intruder’s getaway car on Route 302 in North Windham.

“I saw that broken windshield about seven cars in front of me,” Fusco said. “And I said, oh yeah, jackpot. I was running on pure adrenaline.”

Whipple then got stuck in traffic near Napa Auto Parts, which allowed Fusco time to catch up, jump out of his truck and into Whipple’s car in an attempt to make a citizen’s arrest. Traffic had just started moving forward when Fusco managed to get himself halfway through the car’s window. As he was beating Whipple with the pry bar, Whipple kept driving, dragging the barefoot Fusco about 100 yards along Route 302 from Napa Auto Parts to Burger King.

“My feet are filleted because he was dragging me. I ran out the front door, didn’t have time to get any shoes on. I can barely walk now. I feel like I’ve been through a dryer. But (Whipple) definitely got the worst of it,” Fusco said.

Just then, Windham police, notified of the incident by passing motorists, arrived on scene, stopped Whipple’s car and arrested Whipple. A search for Breen was fruitless, and he remains at large as of press time.

“We know who the other intruder is, it’s just a matter of time before we track him down,” said Windham Police Lt. David DeGruchy.

DeGruchy said Whipple, a resident of 23 Crosby St. in Augusta, was charged with burglary and theft and will be arraigned Dec. 15 in Cumberland County District Court.

Fusco is recovering from the incident at his home on Woodland Road. He said the intruders got away with $2,500, blood pressure pills and canine pain pills.

“It kind of shows how desperate people are getting, to take dog pain pills,” Fusco said.

For some unknown reason the intruders didn’t take the gun Whipple had allegedly used to threaten Fusco, a .38 Special belonging to Fusco’s father.

“The money was money my dad earned this summer painting, so we’re really bummed they got that,” Fusco said. “But, as I told police, at least they didn’t get the gun. That’s one less gun on the streets.”

Fusco credits God for saving his life that day and foiling the intruders’ plans.

“God gave me the strength to stand up to them. I’ve had 100 people call and say they can’t believe I beat them off and took it to that extreme,” he said. “But, as I tell them, it’s amazing this could happen in America. I can see it happening in Cuba or some place like that. But in especially Maine, you should be able to take a nap without having people come in threaten to kill you.”