What started as a quiet Tuesday night in La Mesa turned into a crime-scene spectacle when a local couple walked in on a suspected prowler halfway through their dining-room window, then watched police chase the man down the block as neighbors’ cameras captured the chaos.
The break-in attempt ended on nearby Water Drive near Janfred Way, where officers arrested the bloodied suspect after a short foot pursuit. The whole episode has left the complex on edge, and the couple at the center of it, identified as Devin Pugh and his partner Jacob, say they are still rattled.
Couple Confronts Man Halfway Through Window
Minutes before officers arrived, Pugh said he and Jacob were at home when they heard glass shatter in the dining area. Rushing to check it out, they found a man wedged partway through a small dining-room window, apparently after smashing the pane with a rock and trying to force his way inside.
“I honestly thought the cabinet ripped off the wall and all the dishes were breaking,” Pugh said, according to NBC 7 San Diego. Pugh estimated the face-to-face encounter with the intruder lasted only about 15 seconds before the man scrambled back out the window and ran out the back.
Video Shows Foot Pursuit And Arrest
Neighborhood surveillance cameras later picked up the action outside, recording officers chasing the suspect on foot through nearby alleys. Police say the man had already been the subject of a prior loitering complaint in the area…