Cerritos Resident Used Shotgun to Scare Intruder Away

File photo

Thursday July 25, 2019 11:00 a.m.

BY BRIAN HEWS

A Cerritos resident and his family who live on the 17000 block of Newburgh Ave. in Cerritos had quite a scare this past Tuesday, July 23.

His family was startled to find a man in their backyard “making noise” at around 11:51 p.m.; frightened, they called the Cerritos Sheriffs.

The Cerritos station deputies responded with lights and sirens to the “burglary in progress” call.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the homeowner heard the prowler in his backyard banging on the door and demanding entry.

The brazen suspect was then heard breaking out their kitchen window, but by that time the father had taken serious, and some will say dangerous, action.

The brave father had confronted the prowler with a shotgun and scared him away.

The intruder fled the location prior to the deputy’s arrival with the victims reportedly hearing a car screeching away; neither the family nor the father saw the vehicle nor the direction of travel.

The family said the incident happened so fast neither of them got a good look at the suspect and “only saw his shadow,” after the father wielded the shotgun.

The report indicated that because of the actions of the father, the intruder did not make entry into the home nor was anything stolen.

However, the intruder’s vehicle was not located, so the sheriffs remained in the area throughout the night in case the intruder returned.

A follow-up investigation is underway with the sheriffs stating that the incident may be related to a similar incident that happened in the area the night before.