Keeping your cool.

The house was near a busy street in Reno, Nevada; the dog was barking loudly; it was the middle of the day. Jeffrey Johannessen got up from a nap and saw a man, later identified as career-felon Ernest Carpenter, prying at a window, unfazed by the presence of the dog.

Johannessen, a realtor who'd been a deputy in his younger days, grabbed his shotgun and "waited for the suspect he nicknamed 'Cool Hand Luke' for his criminal confidence," reported RGJ.com. When Carpenter entered the house, Johannessen told him to get on the floor. When Carpenter did not comply, Johannessen struck Carpenter with the butt of his gun several times for encouragement.

Johannessen then held Carpenter for the police. At the time of the burglary attempt, the 50-year-old Carpenter was out on parole. For this October 25 burglary attempt, he was booked for attempted burglary and possession of burglary tools. According to RGJ.com, "Police said that Carpenter was being monitored by the regional Repeat Offender Program that secretly watches career criminals who average at least five felony property crime convictions." This begs the question: "From just how far away were they watching him?"