LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - People who live on Lombardy Drive call Charlie Hill "The Mayor of Lombardy". After his house was ransacked by burglars today, those neighbors where there when he needed them.

"Mr. Charlie, whenever you come up the street, he's always waving and talking, the kids will go up to him and give him a big hug when they see him. He's just a good guy," said Carroll Hughes.

Hill is the last person anyone in the community would want to see become a victim, but neighbors said that's what happened today.

"I kind of looked at him like, 'what are you doing here?'," said Carroll Hughes' wife, Donnita.

Donnita Hughes was driving past Hill's house when she says she saw three young men who looked out of place. Her husband, Carroll, was driving behind her and went to investigate.

"I seen three guys with hoodies and stuff on getting into a truck," he said.

Hughes, a corrections officer, says his gut told him to follow the truck and call police.

"Once they sped up to about 60 miles-per-hour in the neighborhood, I kind of backed off of them because I know the neighborhood and I said, 'If they're going this fast, it's probably going to end in a wreck or something like that,' he said.

Police said that's exactly what happened. It turned out truck they were driving had been reported stolen. Police say after the truck hit several cars, two people inside bailed out, but the driver stayed with the truck until it died. He was arrested at the scene. About a half-hour later, police say they found a second suspect nearby and arrested him. They said they were still searching for the third. Donnita Hughes says she's proud of her husband for his actions.

"He swore to serve and protect even though he's not a police officer and he takes that vow very seriously. When it comes to his home and his family and his neighborhood, that's what he does," she said.

Mr. Hill says this is the second time burglars have hit his house.