HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- An accused vandal had practically no chance of escaping a citizen's arrest.

Several workers at Robert's Running and Walking Shop along 4th Avenue have recently gone out to their cars after their shifts to find their car windows shot out.

"My employees have been scared to park in this parking lot now for three weeks," owner Robert Smith said.

The last few weeks someone with a pellet gun, apparently for their own amusement, has been firing at building windows, cars, and street lights

"I don't understand destruction of other people's property," Smith said. "I don't know why somebody does this kind of thing."

On Thursday, an employee caught a man in the act.

"I was in the store working, and one of our other employees had just finished a run and witnessed the guy shooting the windows out at Main Street Insurance," Smith said. "He ran in the shop and knew I'd been looking for this guy for several weeks and said, 'Hey, your guy is right out there.' So I of course took off to find him."

The suspect, Robert Coffman, took off running. While it seemed like a natural response, it was a futile one in this case.

"At the time I guess we weren't laughing, but it seemed comical," Smith said. "He was being chased by probably some of the best runners in the state."

He says it didn't take long for Coffman to run out of steam. They waited with the accused vandal until police showed up.

"People have to understand if you come into the community and cause problems there is going to be push back," Smith said.

Police say they found illegal drugs in Coffman's apartment nearby and are charging him with possession with intent, along with destruction of property.