A Kunsan-based airman remained hospitalized Monday after allegedly breaking into an elderly South Korean woman’s home Saturday morning, trashing her house for an hour, then falling out of a third-story window as he tried to flee, according to South Korean police.
The airman, identified by a Jeonju police spokesman by his last name, Lewis, broke into the Jeonju house, where the 81-year-old woman lives alone, around 1:30 a.m., the spokesman said.
The airman allegedly broke the front window, kicked and broke furniture in her living room for the next hour, the spokesman said.
When police arrived, the airman ran upstairs to get away. He fell out of the window, and police found him unconscious on the ground, the spokesman said.
The airman was taken to the emergency room of Chonbuk National University Hospital and was transferred to the base hospital, according to the spokesman.
Kunsan spokesman Lt. David Herndon said the suspect is an E-2 with the 8th Security Forces Squadron, but base officials aren’t releasing his name or hometown until the incident investigation is finished.
Herndon said he couldn’t comment on the airman’s injuries because of privacy regulations.
The police spokesman said investigators haven’t been able to interview Lewis because of his injuries and are trying to schedule a meeting to discuss the incident with Kunsan officials.
Herndon said he was unaware of specific meetings between base commanders and Korean police.
The woman, whose last name is Jung, was not injured, and the police spokesman said he didn’t know the estimated damages to her home.
Herndon said he couldn’t comment on whether the airman would face charges.
"Kunsan Air Base officials will continue to work closely with Korean civilian authorities as an investigation is conducted into this arrest," he said.
He said it was "premature" to discuss possible compensation for the woman, but any Korean national affected by the incident could file a status of forces agreement claim with the South Korean government.
Herndon said Kunsan will not be placed under a curfew or restrictions because of the incident. Airmen were restricted to base for five days in April 2007 after two airmen and a civilian employee attacked a taxi driver.
